Star Names
The Scattering Auspice (sa’d nashira)
The Scattering Auspice 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 Scattering Auspice is a pair of stars that was perhaps named for the wind that scatters or disburses the rain-bearing clouds, or else for the dry herbage that becomes green again during the rains at the end of the summer.
The Scattering Auspice (sa’d nashira) 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
γ CAP (Nashira), white star, magnitude 3.7
δ CAP (Deneb Algedi), white star, magnitude 2.9
Timing
The Scattering Auspice rose with the Auspice of Woolen Tents and set with the Auspice of Auspices. On account of the precession of the equinoxes, today we can expect to observe the Scattering Auspice setting in late August 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 Scattering Auspice 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 Scattering Auspice is part of the Auspicious Asterisms (as-su’ud, السعود) folkloric celestial complex.
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