Writer's Block: AKA
Feb. 27th, 2009 22:14![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zubeneschamali[Error: unknown template qotd]For some reason I get asked this question fairly often...wonder why? *eyeroll*
Zubeneschamali (ZOO-ben-es-sha-MAH-lee) is the second-brightest star in the constellation Libra. It means "northern claw" in Arabic because for Arab astronomers, it was part of the constellation Scorpius. (Zubenelgenubi is its sister star; its meaning in Arabic is an exercise left to the reader.) In the Northern Hemisphere, you can see it in the summer low on the southern horizon; it's relatively bright, even in urban areas.
I think it was during the summer before my senior year of high school when I came across the name three times within a few weeks: in an astronomy day camp I was volunteering at, in James Michener's Space, and I can't remember the third time. But the name stuck with me because it was so unusual and because at that point in time, I wanted to be an astronomer. A couple of years later in college, this thing called the Internet got my attention, and when I needed a username for various listservs and such, I figured it was distinctive, memorable, and would remain relevant for a long time. I was right. :)
Of course, I stll need to sound it out in my head pretty much every time I type it.
Zubeneschamali (ZOO-ben-es-sha-MAH-lee) is the second-brightest star in the constellation Libra. It means "northern claw" in Arabic because for Arab astronomers, it was part of the constellation Scorpius. (Zubenelgenubi is its sister star; its meaning in Arabic is an exercise left to the reader.) In the Northern Hemisphere, you can see it in the summer low on the southern horizon; it's relatively bright, even in urban areas.
I think it was during the summer before my senior year of high school when I came across the name three times within a few weeks: in an astronomy day camp I was volunteering at, in James Michener's Space, and I can't remember the third time. But the name stuck with me because it was so unusual and because at that point in time, I wanted to be an astronomer. A couple of years later in college, this thing called the Internet got my attention, and when I needed a username for various listservs and such, I figured it was distinctive, memorable, and would remain relevant for a long time. I was right. :)
Of course, I stll need to sound it out in my head pretty much every time I type it.
