Talk:Kochab

Arabic origin and name

The article very cautiously mentions a possibility for an arabic origin while many Russian and few French sources go even further. According to them the full Arabic name of the star is "Кохаб-эль-Шемали" / "Kaucab al Shemali" which translates to "The star of the Nord". It makes sense (much more than Kochab=star in de.wiki for example) but I cannot find any source in English. Obviously my knowledge in Arabic is zero, and my knowledge in Arabic (historical) names of the stars is even lower. -- Goldie (tell me) 04:33, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

As far as I know Arabic, the word for 'star' in this language is something like 'najm' or 'najmun'. (87.207.80.120 (talk) 23:03, 17 July 2008 (UTC))

According to Richard Hinckley Allen's book Star Names: Thier Lore and Meaning (page 458), Kochab is derived from the Arabic phrase Al Kaukab al Shamaliyy, meaning "Star of the North".Lily20 (talk) 21:52, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

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Apparent declination

I corrected an outdated statement of the apparent distance of Polaris from the north celestial pole as an pole alignment marker from Kochab. It is currently about 38 arcminutes, a few minutes different from the J2000 epoch due to precession. The apparent declination also varies several minutes of arc due to atmospheric refraction during the time of day. The apparent position is not visually precise to arcminutes without a complex sidereal calculation, so the stated precision is misleading. Richard J Kinch (talk) 04:46, 6 August 2022 (UTC)

Requested move 15 September 2025

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: moved. No strong argument for oppose, some sources to support. (closed by non-admin page mover) Ivey (talk - contribs) 16:18, 21 October 2025 (UTC)

---

• Beta Ursae Minoris → Kochab
• Gamma Ursae Minoris → Pherkad
• Delta Ursae Minoris → Yildun

– Most web pages prefer their proper names over the Bayer designations. Also via naming WP:STARNAMES. MisterSpacee (talk) 13:03, 15 September 2025 (UTC) — Relisting. Tenshi! (Talk page) 13:32, 22 September 2025 (UTC) — Relisting. Ivey (talk - contribs) 18:07, 29 September 2025 (UTC) — Relisting.  --pro-anti-air ––>(talk)<–– 22:45, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

The nominator does not specify any website, so i would naturally oppose, but let's wait the "ADS Searchers" determine which name is more common. I however agree that proper names are more popular among the common people, and in the pop science and popular applications as Celestia, Star Walk or Stellarium, but unfortunately WP:NCASTRO prefer the names used by 'professional studies' (which i consider arbitrary, as the common name turns out to be merely "common among x"), most of which use the Bayer designations. 21 Andromedae (talk) 14:32, 15 September 2025 (UTC)

If it is Google search, Support the move of the articles, and Strong support for Gamma UMi, as there is a dimmer star called 11 UMi that is also designated as Gamma¹ UMi. Gamma UMi could be used as a disambiguation page, although the designations are rarely used. Astronomical Editor (talk) 13:39, 19 September 2025 (UTC)

Neutral/lean Support for Kochab, lean Oppose for the other two. Kochab is commonly used, the other two names less so (and that's supported by the mentioned "ADS searching"). The designation Gamma Ursae Minoris is shared with 11 UMi in some older sources... but so is the name Pherkad, with 11 UMi being Pherkad Minor, so I'm not sure how that would help. It's already explained in the article. SevenSpheres (talk) 14:59, 21 September 2025 (UTC)

Support all, per nomination and above. 21 Andromedae (talk) 16:28, 26 September 2025 (UTC)

Relisting comment: any have some sources for this? Ivey (talk - contribs) 18:07, 29 September 2025 (UTC)

See SevenSpheres comment. 21 Andromedae (talk) 01:20, 9 October 2025 (UTC)

Relisting comment: No comments since previous relist --pro-anti-air ––>(talk)<–– 22:45, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

Support per nom. WhatADrag07 (talk) 20:55, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.