An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The white star in the constellation → Canis Major that is the brightest star of the sky (V = -1.46). Its other designations include HD 48915, HR 2491, and BD-16°1591.

Its particular brightness is mostly due to its proximity to the Earth, being a mere 8.6 → light-years away, the fifth closest star system. Sirius is a → dwarf star of → spectral type A0 or A1 V with an → effective temperature of 9,880 K, a mass of 2.063 ± 0.023 Msun (Bond et al., 2017, ApJ 840, 70), and a → luminosity of 26 Lsun. Sirius has a radius of 1.75 solar and a minimum equatorial rotation speed of 16 km s^-1. Its → rotation period is less than 5.5 days. This star is a → visual binary (separation 4.6 arcsec, period 50 years), the companion → Sirius B being the first → white dwarf to be discovered. Sirius is a → metal-rich star, its iron content triple that of the Sun, most likely from some sort of → element diffusion.

Etymology (EN): From L. Sirius, from Gk. Seirios, literally “scorching,” because of its brightness.

Etymology (PE): Tištar, from Mid.Pers. Tištar, from Av. Tištrya- “(name of the deified star) Sirius,” literally “the one who belongs to the three stars,” in reference to the three stars of → Orion’s Belt; ultimately from PIE *tri-str-o-m- “group of three stars,” then *tri-str-iia- and by dissimulation Indo-Iranian *ti-str-iia-, Av. *Tištriia- and Vedic Skt. Tisyà (A. Panaino, in Iranica, under Tištrya).