Alpha Centauri - Names

Names

The colloquial name of Alpha Centauri is Rigel Kent or Rigil Kent, short for Rigil/Rigel Kentaurus, the romanization of the Arabic name رجل القنطورس Rijl Qanṭūris, from the phrase Ar-Rijl al-Qanṭūris "the foot of the Centaur". This is sometimes further abbreviated to Rigel, though that is ambiguous with Beta Orionis. Although the short form Rigel Kent is common in English, the stars are most often referred to by their Bayer designation Alpha Centauri.

A medieval name is Toliman, whose etymology may be Arabic الظلمان al-Ẓulmān "the ostriches". During the 19th century, the northern amateur popularist Elijah H. Burritt used the now-obscure name Bungula, possibly coined from "β" and the Latin ungula ("hoof"). Together, Alpha and Beta Centauri form the "Southern Pointers" or "The Pointers", as they point towards the Southern Cross, the asterism of the constellation of Crux.

In Chinese, 南門 Nán Mén, meaning Southern Gate, refers to an asterism consisting of α Centauri and ε Centauri. Consequently, α Centauri itself is known as 南門二 Nán Mén Èr, the Second Star of the Southern Gate.

To the Australian aboriginal Boorong people of northwestern Victoria, Alpha and Beta Centauri are Bermbermgle, two brothers noted for their courage and destructiveness, who speared and killed Tchingal "The Emu" (the Coalsack Nebula). The form in Wotjobaluk is Bram-bram-bult.