Zubenelgenubi

HR 5531

72622

α2 Lib

2016/08/21

Applied in Renaissance times from its sci-A name al-zubana al-janubi, the Southern Claw ( of the Scorpion)." The stars of Libra were interpreted by the Baby!onians as "the Claws of Scorpius" (thus forming a much larger Scorpion), and alternatively (perhaps in a more recent stage) they were made an independent constellation, "the Balance." Both these conceptions lived on until the Greeks and, partly, the ind-Arabs. Previous to Greek influences, the ind-Arabs used the name al-zubanayan, "the Two Claws ( of the Scorpion}," for the lunar mansion marked by α and β Lib. (Ind-A al-zubanayan is obviously related etymologically to Babylonian zibanutu, but the latter, also marked by α and β Lib, meant "the Balance"). Our modern name is occasionally seen abbreviated as Zuben'ubi".