(now Safronov Regio) on the limb at 5 o'clock The Mandaean community of Iraq and Iran is one of the few communities from the Middle East that still preserve the ancient
Babylonian tradition of divination by the stars and heavenly bodies (
astrology), directly from its source, even retaining the traditional
Akkadian names for the stars and the visible planets. Despite this unique distinction, the Mandaeans had previously been unrepresented in astronomical place-names.
Rutgers professor
Charles G. Häberl initiated a social media campaign, "Vote Krun," to recognize
the Mandaeans by bestowing a
Mandaic name upon one such feature. The Vote Krun campaign noted that since the time of
Percival Lowell and
Clyde Tombaugh, heavenly cosmography had expanded beyond names from Greco-Roman antiquity to the celebrated figures of many cultures and traditions, but not yet the Mandaeans. However, Krun Macula was later superseded by the name Safronov Regio in 2023. == See also ==