View source for Talk:Alioth/@comment-121.210.33.50-20180214025106

It's worth noting that although Alioth was named by a subcommittee at IAU quite recently, it breaches IAU's own standing orders as linked to, by replacing an existing name. Where possible the committee is meant to use existing names in the astronomy texts, but recently it appears rogue committees are seeking to rename stars on a whim, with even a living person's name being applied to one system.

The historical name for the star termed in the game as Alioth is and always has been Epsilon Ursae Majoris, and even the Zij al-Sindhind refers to it as such.

I am unsure where they got the term Alioth, but it is ill fitting, and I am sure that any of the first human settlers of this star would oppose their home being a 'fat sheep tail.' Not that there can be such a thing, given sheeps tails aren't fat, nor can they be fat, nor do most sheep retain their tails (historically the act of docking their tails began at the time of their domestication, which draws into question even more the validity of the name Alioth and whether it is even a real word).