Meissa

Orion · λ Ori · HR 1879

HIP26207
IAU adoption2016/07/20

Name origin

From the ind-A name al-maisan, for either γ or ξ Gem. The meaning of the name is uncertain. It may mean "the Sparkling One," referring to a star, or "the Proudly Marching One," referring to a person. Together, γ and ξ Gem composed the ind-A 6th lunar mansion alhan'a. The nearby stars λ, ϕ1, and ϕ2 Ori composed the adjacent 5th lunar mansion al-haq'a. Due to confusion between these two parent lunar mansions in a late Arabic source, "Meissa" was wrongly applied to λ Ori (rather than to γ or ξ Gem) in recent times. "Meissa" (without n at the end) corresponds to ind-A almaisa', a variant form of al-maisan.

Alternative names

  • No alternative names yet.