Nunki

HR 7121 · HIP 92855 · σ Sgr

👁️ Naked-eye

📋 A written introduction is coming — for now this page shows official values only.

Star

Apparent magnitude: 2.067 mag
Parallax: 14.32 mas → about 227.8 light-years away
Spectral type: B2.5V
Right ascension: 283.8164°
Declination: -26.2967°
Designation: HR 7121
Bayer designation: σ Sgr
HIP number: 92855
IAU name adopted: 2016-08-21
Name language: Sumerian
Name origin (IAU): ᵐᵘˡNUN.KI or ᵐᵘˡNUNᴷᴵ = the star or constellation of Eridu where Eridu is one of the first big cities known. Archealogical proofs date back to the 3rd millennium (Sumer). It is located at the southern coast of Mesopotamia. The identification of the star or asterism is highly uncertain: it is often identified with Canopus and adjacent areas or "somewhere in Argo". ᵐᵘˡNUN.KI is listed in MUL.APIN and there, it seems to refer to the area of Aquarius with unknown identification (Canopus not excluded) but the identification with other Babylonian texts seems to propose only in the northern part of modern Argo, i.e. Vela. The Euphratean name "Nunki" was mentioned and associated with Sigma Sgr in Robert Brown, Jr. (1892, Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 14, p. 298; "Nun-ki", "Prince-of-the-Earth"), and its use diffused through the 20th century after being mentioned in Richard Hinckley Allen's (Star Names, their lore and meaning, p. 359). The modern Nunki is, thus, not identical with the Sumerian one; it is one of the many misapplications.

Constellation

Light from this object takes about 228 years to reach Earth — the light you see tonight left around AD 1798 (official distance ÷ speed of light).
At magnitude 2.1 it is bright enough for the naked eye (limit about 6) — look from somewhere dark.
Declination -26.3° — it rises above the horizon in Seoul (37.6° N), so it is visible from Korea in the right season.

Worked out from this object's official values.

HR 7121 · HIP 92855 · σ Sgr

👁️ Naked-eye

📋 A written introduction is coming — for now this page shows official values only.

Apparent magnitude: 2.067 mag
Parallax: 14.32 mas → about 227.8 light-years away
Spectral type: B2.5V
Right ascension: 283.8164°
Declination: -26.2967°
Designation: HR 7121
Bayer designation: σ Sgr
HIP number: 92855
IAU name adopted: 2016-08-21
Name language: Sumerian
Name origin (IAU): ᵐᵘˡNUN.KI or ᵐᵘˡNUNᴷᴵ = the star or constellation of Eridu where Eridu is one of the first big cities known. Archealogical proofs date back to the 3rd millennium (Sumer). It is located at the southern coast of Mesopotamia. The identification of the star or asterism is highly uncertain: it is often identified with Canopus and adjacent areas or "somewhere in Argo". ᵐᵘˡNUN.KI is listed in MUL.APIN and there, it seems to refer to the area of Aquarius with unknown identification (Canopus not excluded) but the identification with other Babylonian texts seems to propose only in the northern part of modern Argo, i.e. Vela. The Euphratean name "Nunki" was mentioned and associated with Sigma Sgr in Robert Brown, Jr. (1892, Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 14, p. 298; "Nun-ki", "Prince-of-the-Earth"), and its use diffused through the 20th century after being mentioned in Richard Hinckley Allen's (Star Names, their lore and meaning, p. 359). The modern Nunki is, thus, not identical with the Sumerian one; it is one of the many misapplications.

Constellation

Light from this object takes about 228 years to reach Earth — the light you see tonight left around AD 1798 (official distance ÷ speed of light).
At magnitude 2.1 it is bright enough for the naked eye (limit about 6) — look from somewhere dark.
Declination -26.3° — it rises above the horizon in Seoul (37.6° N), so it is visible from Korea in the right season.

Worked out from this object's official values.