Zeta Geminorum - Etymology

Etymology

This star has the traditional name Mekbuda, which comes from ancient Arabic where it and the star Mebsuta (Epsilon Geminorum) were the paws of a lion. Mekbuda comes from a phrase meaning the lion's folded paw. In Chinese, 井宿 (Jǐng Su), meaning Well (asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of ζ Geminorum, μ Geminorum, γ Geminorum, ν Geminorum, ξ Geminorum, ε Geminorum, 36 Geminorum and λ Geminorum. Consequently, ζ Geminorum itself is known as 井宿七 (Jǐng Su qī, English: the Seventh Star of Well.)

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