In the constellation of Sagittarius, Nunki marks the vane of the celestial Archer’s arrow.
The star’s name, Nunki is of Assyrian or Babylonian origin, but its meaning is unknown. The name was recovered by archaeologists and revealed by Richard Hinckley Allen in his Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning (1899).
Sigma Sagittarii was identified with Nunki, the Star of the Proclamation of the Sea – as mentioned in the Euphratean Table of the Thirty Stars. The sea in question refers to the area of the sky occupied by several constellations associated with water: Delphinus, Aquarius, Capricornus, Pisces, and Piscis Austrinus.
The Greek astronomer Aratus called this area the Water around 270 BC.
Nunki, designated as Sigma Sagittarii, is the second-brightest star in the zodiacal constellation of Sagittarius. Click for more information.
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