Mebsuta

Star

Apparent magnitude

2.98 mag

Parallax

3.86 mas → about 845 light-years away

Spectral type

A3mA6-A9

Right ascension

100.983°

Declination

25.1311°

Designation

HR 2473

Bayer designation

ε Gem

HIP number

32246

IAU name adopted

2016-07-20

Name language

Arabic

Name origin (IAU)

From an abbreviation of the pre-Islamic Arabian asterism name dhira' al-asad almabsuta, "the Lion's Outstretched Paw," for one of the two pairs α/β Gem or α/β CMi. These pairs were assigned to the larger pre-Islamic Arabian asterism al-asad, but there is no unanimity in the Arabic sources as to which pair was the "outstretched" or "folded" paw. "Mebsuta" was arbitrarily applied as a star name to ε Gem in recent times. In its indigenous location stretching from parts of Gemini all the way into Virgo, the pre-Islamic Arabian al-asad, "the Lion," corresponded to what in other cultures was Leo among the zodiacal signs. Subsequently the Arabs used the indigenous name for the smaller Greek Lion (Leo).

Source:IAU Working Group on Star Names · checked 2026-11-02 ↗ESA Hipparcos Catalogue (ESA Gaia Archive) · checked 2026-11-03 ↗