Star Names
The Auspice of the King (sa’d al-malik)
The Auspice of the King is one of the ten Auspicious Asterisms (as-su’ud). The Arabic term indicates good fortune or something that is auspicious, especially a star. The Auspicious Asterisms are all pairs of otherwise unremarkable stars, except for one that is comprised of four stars. The Auspice of the King is a pair of stars that included one of the brightest stars of the Auspicious Asterisms.
The Auspice of the King (sa’d al-malik) as it appears in the west about 45 minutes before sunrise in early August. Sky simulations made with Stellarium.
Appearance
A pair of stars close to each other, one of which is dimmer than the other.
Modern Identification
α AQR (Sadalmelik), yellow supergiant star, magnitude 3.0
ο AQR, blue star, magnitude 4.7
Timing
The Auspice of the King rose with the First Spout (al-fargh al-awal) of the Well Bucket (ad-dalw) and set just before the Auspice of Woolen Tents. On account of the precession of the equinoxes, today we can expect to observe the Auspice of the King setting in early September and rising in early March, as seen from the latitude of Tucson. (See How to Observe on the About page for more on this topic.)
Rain Stars
The Auspicious Asterisms do not figure in the calendar of the rains stars.
Lunar Stations
The Auspice of the King is not one of the lunar stations, but four of the other Auspicious Asterisms are: the Auspice of the Slaughterer (sa’d adh-dhabih), the Voracious Auspice (sa’d bul’), the Auspice of Auspices (sa’d as-su’ud) and the Auspice of Woolen Tents (sa’d akhbiya).
Related Stars and Celestial Complexes
The Auspice of the King is part of the Auspicious Asterisms (as-su’ud, السعود) folkloric celestial complex.
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