🟠 Jiantai — δ2 Lyr Red giant in Lyra. Jian Tai is a Chinese constellation that resembles astronomical timekeeping and musical pitch calibration. 🌡️ 3,394 K | 4.5 M☉ | 293 R☉ | 898 ly 🔬 M-type giant. #Jiantai #IAUStarNames #ChineseAstronomy

🟠 Ninnisig — θ Lyr Orange variable giant in Lyra. Ninnisig was a Sumerian goddess and the “butcher of the highest temple,” paired with Erragal in ancient sky lore. 🌡️ 4,523 K | 4.7 M☉ | 85 R☉ | 768 ly 🔬 K-type giant. #Ninnisig #IAUStarNames #SumerianAstronomy 🌌✨

🌟 Honouring Prof. Clive Ruggles On 14 July 2026, Clive received an honorary D.Sc. from the University of Leicester for his pioneering work in cultural astronomy. His research on traditional star names worldwide continues to inform WGSN. Congratulations, Clive! 🎓✨

⚪ Uñallamacha — HD 155985 A blue supergiant in Scorpius, preserving the Inka Baby Llama from the dark skies of the Andes. WGSN selected this faint star to represent the celestial calf. 🌡️ 26,000 K | 25 M☉ | 35 R☉ | 4,727 ly 🔬 B0.5 Ia/b blue supergiant #Uñallamacha #IAUStarNames #InkaAstronomy 🦙✨

🟡 Urquchillay — ζ² Lyr Yellow-white star in Lyra. Urquchillay (“Llama of Many Colors”) was the Inka guardian of llamas and wild animals. WGSN placed the name on ζ² Lyrae, near the heart of the celestial llama. 🌡️ 7,257 K | 1.43 M☉ | 2.28 R☉ | 150 ly 🔬 Rapidly rotating F1 V star. #Urquchillay

🔵 Kautoki — ζ¹ Lyr Yellow-white binary in Lyra, preserving Kapingamarangi’s Polynesian sky tradition. 🧵 “Handle of the adze” (kau-toki), a celestial woodworking tool. 🌡️ 7,914 K | 2.36 M☉ | 153 ly 🔬 Chemically peculiar binary. #Kautoki #IAUStarNames 🌌

🔵 Udang — θ Cap Blue-white binary in Capricornus. Udang (“The Shrimp”) comes from the 1,300-year-old Balinese Palelintangan sky tradition, where Capricornus forms a shrimp instead of a Goat-Fish. 🌡️ 10,221 K | 2.59 M☉ | 2.25 R☉ | 158 ly 🔬 A1 V binary. #Udang #IAUStarNames #BalineseAstronomy 🦐✨

🔴 Ping — ε Lep Red giant in Lepus. Píng (屏, “Screen”) is an ancient Chinese asterism representing the privacy screen before a toilet both mapped in the sky. 🌡️ 4,131 K | 1.18 M☉ | 44 R☉ | 226 ly 🔬 K4 III giant with solar-like oscillations. #Ping #IAUStarNames #ChineseAstronomy ✨

🟠 Tonglingxing — HIP 33694 Orange giant in Camelopardalis. Tóng Líng (桐陵, “Phoenix Tree Mound”) is a rare 2,000-year-old Chinese name from the Purple Forbidden Palace. WGSN adopted Tonglingxing to avoid confusion with asteroid Tongling. 🌡️ 4,160 K | 1.29 M☉ | 18.7 R☉ | 191 ly #Tonglingxing

🟡 Genghe — σ Boo Yellow-white F-type star in Boötes. Gěnghé (梗河) means “Celestial Lance,” an ancient Chinese asterism of three stars. 🌡️ 6,594 K | 3.84 M☉ | 1.47 R☉ | 50 ly 🔬 F4 V star with a strong magnetic field & X-ray emission. #Genghe #IAUStarNames #Bootes ✨

🟡 Tepiamenit — τ Boo 🔵 Khepdenreret — ε Her Ancient Egyptian sky names reborn. Tepiamenit (“Predecessor of Menit”) and Khepdenreret (“Buttocks of Reret”) preserve the Hippopotamus Goddess Reret from the Ramesside Star Clocks (~1200 BCE), linking modern stars to Egypt’s celestial heritage. ✨

✨ Happy Tanabata! 🎋 Missed your chance to send wishes to the stars on July 7? This year, you'll have another opportunity on August 19 (the 7th day of the 7th lunar month). Look up at Vega & Altair, greet them, and perhaps make a wish they're always there. 🌌✨ #Tanabata #Astronomy

🟠 Kalasungsang — ρ Boo Orange giant in Boötes. The Balinese name Kalasungsang means “upside-down demon,” from kala (“time/death”), reminding us not to waste time. 🌡️ 4,285 K | 1.16 M☉ | 35 R☉ | 148 ly 🔬 K3 III giant. #Kalasungsang #IAUStarNames #Bootes ⏳✨

🔴 Telum — γ Sge Red giant in Sagitta. Telum (“the Dart”) was the Latin name for the constellation in classic European atlases by Dürer, Bayer & Kepler. WGSN assigned it to γ Sge. 🌡️ 3,904 K | 1.2 M☉ | 52 R☉ | 273 ly #Telum #IAUStarNames #Sagitta

🟠 Tianbian — α Sct An orange giant in Scutum, preserving the ancient Chinese asterism Tiān Biàn (“Celestial Cap”), recorded since ~100 BCE as part of the Celestial Market. 🌡️ 4,315 K | 1.14 M☉ | 31 R☉ | 174 ly 🔬 K-type giant with slight brightness variations. #ChineseAstronomy #Scutum ✨

🟡 Shakh — β Sge A golden giant in Sagitta, preserving the ancient Sumerian constellation ŠAH (“The Pig”), recorded in MUL.APIN (c. 1350–1150 BCE). Together with α Sge, it marked the Pig’s snout. 🌡️ 4,990 K | 4.05 M☉ | 85 R☉ | 466 ly 🔬 G8 III giant. #Shakh #IAUStarNames #SumerianAstronomy #Sagitta 🐖✨

🌌 Yaqana & Uñallamacha | The Llama Constellations of the Inka Sky Not all constellations are made of stars. In Inka astronomy, Yaqana and her calf, Uñallamacha, emerge from the dark clouds of the Milky Way, reminding us that even darkness can tell a story. #IndigenousAstronomy #Inka #MilkyWay

⚪ Yaqana — ε Nor A blue-white triple star honoring the Inka Mother Llama, one of the Milky Way’s famous dark constellations. WGSN placed the name at the llama’s udder, symbolizing nourishment. 🌡️ 11,100 K | 6.5 M☉ | 4.4 R☉ | 399 ly 🔬 B2 V triple system. #Yaqana #IAUStarNames #InkaAstronomy 🌌🦙

🔴 Pherkad Minor — 11 UMi A red giant near the Little Dipper, preserving the ancient Arabic asterism al-Farqadān (“The Two Calves”). Companion in tradition to the brighter Pherkad. 🌡️ 4,253 K | 1.18 M☉ | 44 R☉ | 526 ly 🔬 K4 III red giant 🪐 Hosts an exoplanet. #PherkadMinor #IAUStarNames #UrsaMinor

🔵 Pistol Star — V4647 Sgr One of the Milky Way’s most luminous stars, hidden by dust near the Galactic Center. A blue hypergiant illuminating the famous Pistol Nebula. 🌡️ 11,800 K | 27.5 M☉ | 308 R☉ | 25,100 ly 🔬 LBV (Luminous Blue Variable) Future supernova candidate. #PistolStar #IAUStarNames

Individual humans, united by a shared passion for the stars, can bridge cultural divides even in countries at war. One key takeaway from the May 26 panel on science communication in West Asia: bring communication down to the individual level. Wars are between states, not people. #CAP2026

At #CAP2026 in Yerevan, Armenia, Stellarium developer Georg Zotti presented advanced tools for cultural astronomy, including Sky Cultures and the query system of the IAU-All Skies Encyclopaedia. #Stellarium #IAU #CulturalAstronomy

At the ASROC 2026 Annual Meeting in Zhubei, Taiwan, Cheung Sze Leung, a member of the #IAU Working Group on Star Names (#WGSN), presented the group's efforts to promote culturally diverse star names and preserve traditional astronomical knowledge from around the world.

Group photo of WGSN members Susanne Hoffmann, Daniel Counnama, and Mohammad Sadegh Faghanpour with Areg Mickaelian (Byurakan Observatory) and Georg Zotti (Stellarium) at CAP2026 closing. Discussions on cultural astronomy, science comms, star naming & education tools. #CAP2026 #WGSN

At #CAP2026 in Yerevan, Dr. Susanne Hoffmann, Chair of the IAU Working Group on Star Names (#WGSN), presented a summary of the group’s 10 years of activities on official star names. M. Sadegh Faghanpour also presented the group’s outreach and communication activities. #IAU #Astronomy

⚪Udang - θ Capricorni A binary system a white and a cooler star at a distance of 158 ly distance. The new name is from the Indonesian island of Bali and reflects a tradition that is more than a millennium old.

🟡Yuyu — ι Cancri A binary at Vmag 4.03 resolved in amateur telescopes as a golden G-type giant with a white A-type companion, at a distance of 337 ly. The name is Javanese for a crab, resembling an old indigenous constellation. IAU names Feb 2026. #Yuyu #IAUStarNames

🟡 Lumbung — 39 Crucis An eruptive white variable star (mag 4.95) between the bright stars of the Southern Cross, 1034 ly away. The new star name refers to a traditional Indonesian rice barn and is from the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian language. IAU-names from Feb 2026. #Lumbung #IAUStarNames

🟠Tonglingxing - HIP 33694 A on old orange K-type giant (mag 4.55) in the constellation Camelopardalis. The Chinese name means "Phoenix Tree Mound" and suggests poetically the rise of the phoenix in northern spring time. A slowly spinning star at 191 ly distance. #Tonglingxing #IAUStarNames