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Title:
Reviving Indigenous Star Names of the Middle East: Cultural Heritage in Modern Astronomy
Creator:
Mohammad Sadegh Faghanpour ; Saeed Jafari
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Uncontrolled Keywords:
cultural astronomy ; star names ; astronomical nomenclature ; indigenous asterisms ; intangible astronomical heritage
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Abstract:
This review examines the revival of indigenous Middle Eastern star names as a resource for astronomy education and cultural preservation. It draws on the IAU Catalog of Star Names and recent reports of the IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN), considering 230 officially adopted names classified here according to Arabic, Persian, Sumerian, Hebrew, Turkish, Akkadian and Coptic origins. The review also describes educational infographics that combine astrophysical parameters with historical and linguistic context and were disseminated primarily through social media. Recent WGSN activity shows that standardisation now proceeds alongside the documentation of variant names, etymologies, cultural transfer, and visual traditions. Middle Eastern star names are therefore relevant to both scientific nomenclature and the preservation of intangible astronomical heritage. Their educational use is strongest when an adopted name is presented together with its historical source, linguistic development, and astronomical identification rather than as an isolated label.