Alnasl

Authors: IAU-WGSN Etymology Group, Roland Laffitte, Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula, IanRidpath

---

Alnasl (النصل) is a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Arabic. It is the name of HIP 88635 (γ² Sgr, HR 6746) in constellation Sgr.

Etymology and History

Applied in recent times from its late Arabic name al-nasl, "the Point", in turn an abbreviation of the Arabic Almagest's nasl al-sahm, "the Point of the Arrow".

Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination

Sagittarius with Arabic star names (CC BY Laffitte 2025).

Roland Laffitte (2025):

Introduit au début du XX^e siècle, et aujourd’hui retenu par l’UAI, c’est al-Naṣl, « la Pointe [de la Flèche] ». Ar. al-Naṣl, al-Tīzīnī > ‘El-nasl’, Ideler, ‘Al Naṣl’, Allen. Alnasl, BdL (1908), Rhoads, etc., Simbad, UAI. Var. Al Nasl, Hoffleit, Nit. 01.

AUTRES NOMS : 1. Zujj al Nushshaba. Ar.النشّابة زجّ Zuğğ al-Nuššāba, « le Fer de la Flèche », plus précisément la flèche de bois utilisée par les Persans. Lat. ‘Zugj AlNushaba’, Hyde, ce qui donne Zudsch el-nûschaba c/ Bode, d’où ‘Zujj al Nushshāba’, Allen. Puis Hoffleit, Nit. 01. 2. Nushaba. C’est de la même transcription que précédemment que Piazzi a tiré ce nom raccourci, puis fr. : Coulier. Hoffleit, Nit. 01. 3. Alwarida Prima. Ar. الواردة [النعايم] [al-Na^cā’im] al-Wārida p/ le groupe γδεη Sgr ; se reporter à η Sgr pour les explications. Pour ce qui est plus particulièrement de γ Sgr, nous avons Awwal al-Wārida, al-Tīzīnī, ‘Prima τῶν AlWârida’, Hyde > El Waridah, Bode ; El Keridab de façon fautive p/ Smith > Rumrill. Fr. : γ Sgr est Alwarida Prima c/ Benhamouda via M. A. Sédillot ; d’un autre côté ‘Aoul al-Warida – ‘Prima τῶν Al Warida’, Knobel < al-Aḫsāsī. 4. Alwazl. C’est l’ar. الوصل al-Waṣl, « la Liaison », Abū Ḥanifa ap. al-Marzūqī, qui désigne l’espace vide situé après al-Na^cā’im, mais faussement indiqué p/ λ Sgr par Assemani, comme le relève Ideler, mais ‘Al Wasl’, Allen, Alwazl, Hoffleit, Nit. 01.

English:

Introduced in the early 20th century and now recognized by the IAU, it is al-Naṣl, “the Tip [of the Arrow].” Ar. al-Naṣl, al-Tīzīnī > ‘El-nasl’, Ideler, ‘Al Naṣl’, Allen. Alnasl, BdL (1908), Rhoads, etc., Simbad, IAU. Var. Al Nasl, Hoffleit, Nit. 01.

OTHER NAMES: 1. Zujj al Nushshaba. Arabic: النشّابة زجّ Zuğğ al-Nuššāba, “the Arrowhead,” more specifically the wooden arrow used by the Persians. Latin: ‘Zugj AlNushaba’, Hyde, which becomes Zudsch el-nûschaba according to Bode, hence ‘Zujj al Nushshāba’, Allen. Then Hoffleit, Nit. 01. 2. Nushaba. It is from the same transcription as above that Piazzi derived this shortened name, then Fr.: Coulier. Hoffleit, Nit. 01. 3. Alwarida Prima. Ar. الواردة [النعايم] [al-Nacā’im] al-Wārida via the γδεη Sgr group; see η Sgr for explanations. Specifically regarding γ Sgr, we have Awwal al-Wārida, al-Tīzīnī, “Prima τῶν AlWârida,” Hyde > El Waridah, Bode; El Keridab (erroneously) according to Smith > Rumrill. Fr.: γ Sgr is Alwarida Prima according to Benhamouda via M. A. Sédillot; on the other hand, ‘Aoul al-Warida – ‘Prima τῶν Al Warida’, Knobel < al-Aḫsāsī. 4. Alwazl. This is the Arabic الوصل al-Waṣl, “the Connection,” Abū Ḥanifa according to al-Marzūqī, which refers to the empty space following al-Nacā’im, but incorrectly indicated as λ Sgr by Assemani, as noted by Ideler; however, ‘Al Wasl’ is used by Allen, Alwazl by Hoffleit, and Nit. 01.

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN on 2016/08/21.

Weblinks

• Website of the IAU WGSN: https://exopla.net/

Reference

• References (general)
• Kunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Pub.