- Alderaan (astronomy)
:"Not to be confused with the star
Aldebaran . For the fictional planet in theStar Wars universe, seeAlderaan ."Alderaan is an unused name for the two pairs of
star s α and βCanis Minor is (Procyon andGomeisa ) and α and β Geminorum (Castor and Pollux). The name was taken from Arabic "al-dhirā`ain" الذراعين (= "the two forearms" or "the two front paws" or "the twocubit measuring rods"). The term originally referred to the "measuring rods" meaning, but anastronomer whose native language was not Arabic supposed that it meant "two forepaws" literally and invented an enlarged rampant Lion asterism centered on Leo and stretching over a quarter of the sky.
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