An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

An open cluster of about 40 stars at the border of → Vulpecula and → Sagitta. It has an apparent size of about 1° and
lies 420 → light-years away. Also called Collinder 399 and → Brocchi’s Cluster.
Six of its brighter stars, of sixth and seventh magnitude, are lined up in a nearly perfect row, from the center of which four stars form a hook to resemble the coathanger shape. To the naked eye, it appears as an unresolved patch first recorded by the Persian astronomer Sufi in A.D. 964. It was later rediscovered by Giovanni Battista Hodierna (1597-1660). The Coathanger shares roughly the same motion with several other clusters, including the → Pleiades.

Etymology (EN): → coat; hanger, from hang, M.E. han(i)gen, fusion of O.E. hon “suspend” and hangian “be suspended;” also probably influenced by O.N. hengja “suspend” and hanga “be suspended” (cf. O.Frisian hangia, Du. hangen, Germ. hängen).

Etymology (PE): Raxtâviz, from raxt “clothes, garment, wearing apparel” + âviz “hang,” → pendulum.