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Arcturus
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==Cultural significance== As one of the [[List of brightest stars|brightest stars]] in the sky, Arcturus has been significant to observers since antiquity. In ancient [[Mesopotamia]], it was linked to the god [[Enlil]], and also known as Shudun, "yoke",<ref name=rogers982/> or SHU-PA of unknown derivation in the ''Three Stars Each'' [[Babylonian star catalogues]] and later [[MUL.APIN]] around 1100 BC.<ref name=rogers1998/> In ancient Greek, the star is found in ancient astronomical literature, e.g. Hesiod's ''Work and Days'', circa 700 BC,<ref name=rogers982/> as well as Hipparchus's and Ptolemy's star catalogs. The folk-etymology connecting the star name with the bears (Greek: ἄρκτος, arktos) was probably invented much later.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Star-names and Their Meanings |publisher=Richard Hinckley Allen |year=1899 |isbn=9789333375757 |edition=1st}}</ref> It fell out of use in favour of Arabic names until it was revived in the [[Renaissance]].<ref name=kunitzsch/> Arcturus is also mentioned in Plato's "Laws" (844e) as a herald for the season of vintage, specifically figs and grapes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plato, Laws, Book 8 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0166:book=8 |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> [[File:CometDonati.jpg|thumb|Arcturus next to the head of [[Comet Donati]] in 1858]] In [[Arabic]], Arcturus is one of two stars called ''al-simāk'' "the uplifted ones" (the other is [[Spica]]). Arcturus is specified as السماك الرامح ''as-simāk ar-rāmiħ'' "the uplifted one of the lancer". The term ''Al Simak Al Ramih'' has appeared in Al Achsasi Al Mouakket catalogue (translated into [[Latin]] as ''Al Simak Lanceator'').<ref name=knobel1895/> This has been variously [[Romanization|romanized]] in the past, leading to obsolete variants such as ''Aramec'' and ''Azimech''. For example, the name ''Alramih'' is used in [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[A Treatise on the Astrolabe]]'' (1391). Another Arabic name is ''Haris-el-sema'', from ''حارس السماء'' ''ħāris al-samā’'' "the keeper of heaven".<ref name=arabicstar/><ref name=allen/><ref name=arabicdict/> or ''حارس الشمال'' ''ħāris al-shamāl’'' "the keeper of north".<ref name=davis1944/> In [[Indian astronomy]], Arcturus is called Swati or [[Svati]] (Devanagari स्वाति, Transliteration IAST svāti, svātī́), possibly 'su' + 'ati' ("great goer", in reference to its remoteness) meaning very beneficent. It has been referred to as "the real pearl" in [[Bhartṛhari]]'s kāvyas.<ref>{{cite book |last=Olcott |first=William Tyler |date=2004 |title=Star Lore: Myths, Legends, and Facts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIatz2DGXQwC |location=Mineola, New York |publisher=Dover Publications Inc. |pages=77–78|isbn=978-0-8021-4877-3}}</ref> In [[Chinese astronomy]], Arcturus is called ''Da Jiao'' ({{zh|c=大角|p=Dàjiǎo|l=great horn}}), because it is the brightest star in the [[Chinese constellation]] called ''[[Horn (Chinese constellation)|Jiao Xiu]]'' ({{zh|c=角宿|p=Jiǎo Xiǔ|l=horn star|links=no}}). Later it became a part of another constellation ''[[Neck (Chinese constellation)|Kang Xiu]]'' ({{zh|c=亢宿|p=Kàng Xiǔ|links=no}}). The [[Wotjobaluk people|Wotjobaluk]] [[Koori]] people of southeastern Australia knew Arcturus as ''Marpean-kurrk'', mother of ''Djuit'' ([[Antares]]) and another star in Boötes, ''Weet-kurrk''<ref name=mud/> (Muphrid).<ref name=hamacher10/> Its appearance in the north signified the arrival of the larvae of the [[wood ant]] (a food item) in spring. The beginning of summer was marked by the star's setting with the Sun in the west and the disappearance of the larvae.<ref name=mud/> The people of [[Milingimbi Island]] in [[Arnhem Land]] saw Arcturus and Muphrid as man and woman, and took the appearance of Arcturus at sunrise as a sign to go and harvest ''rakia'' or [[spikerush]].<ref name=noctuary/> The [[Weilwan]] of northern New South Wales knew Arcturus as ''Guembila'' "red".<ref name="noctuary"/>{{rp|84}} Prehistoric [[Polynesian navigation|Polynesian navigators]] knew Arcturus as ''Hōkūleʻa'', the "Star of Joy". Arcturus is the [[zenith]] star of the [[Hawaiian Islands]]. Using Hōkūleʻa and other stars, the Polynesians launched their double-hulled canoes from [[Tahiti]] and the [[Marquesas Islands]]. Traveling east and north they eventually crossed the [[equator]] and reached the [[latitude]] at which Arcturus would appear directly overhead in the summer night sky. Knowing they had arrived at the exact latitude of the island chain, they sailed due west on the [[trade winds]] to landfall. If Hōkūleʻa could be kept directly overhead, they landed on the southeastern shores of the [[Hawaii (island)|Big Island]] of Hawaii. For a return trip to Tahiti the navigators could use Sirius, the zenith star of that island. Since 1976, the [[Polynesian Voyaging Society]]'s ''[[Hōkūleʻa]]'' has crossed the Pacific Ocean many times under navigators who have incorporated this [[wayfinding]] technique in their non-instrument navigation. Arcturus had several other names that described its significance to indigenous [[Polynesia]]ns. In the [[Society Islands]], Arcturus, called ''Ana-tahua-taata-metua-te-tupu-mavae'' ("a pillar to stand by"), was one of the ten "pillars of the sky", bright stars that represented the ten heavens of the [[Tahiti]]an afterlife.<!--{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=199}}--><ref name="makemson"/> In [[Hawaii]], the pattern of Boötes was called ''Hoku-iwa'', meaning "stars of the frigatebird". This constellation marked the path for [[Hawaiʻiloa]] on his return to Hawaii from the South Pacific Ocean.{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=209}} The Hawaiians called Arcturus ''Hoku-leʻa''.{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=280}} It was equated to the [[Tuamotus|Tuamotuan]] constellation ''Te Kiva'', meaning "[[frigatebird]]", which could either represent the figure of Boötes or just Arcturus.{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=221}} However, Arcturus may instead be the Tuamotuan star called ''Turu''.{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=264}} The Hawaiian name for Arcturus as a single star was likely ''Hoku-leʻa'', which means "star of gladness", or "clear star".{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=210}} In the [[Marquesas Islands]], Arcturus was probably called ''Tau-tou'' and was the star that ruled the month approximating January. The [[Māori people|Māori]] and [[Moriori]] called it ''Tautoru'', a variant of the Marquesan name and a name shared with [[Orion's Belt]].{{sfn|Makemson|1941|p=260}} In [[Inuit astronomy]], Arcturus is called the Old Man (''Uttuqalualuk'' in [[Inuit languages]]) and The First Ones (''Sivulliik'' in Inuit languages).<ref name=guide/> The [[Miꞌkmaq]] of eastern Canada saw Arcturus as ''Kookoogwéss'', the owl.<ref name=hagar1900/> Early-20th-century Armenian scientist [[Nazaret Daghavarian]] theorized that the star commonly referred to in [[Armenian folklore]] as ''Gutani astgh'' ([[Armenian language|Armenian]]: Գութանի աստղ; lit. star of the plow) was in fact Arcturus, as the [[constellation]] of [[Boötes]] was called "Ezogh" ([[Armenian language|Armenian]]: Եզող; lit. the person who is plowing) by Armenians.<ref name=daghavarian/>
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