Name the eight-pointed star

July 27, 2005 8:15 AM

Is there a name for the eight-pointed star pictured here?
posted by jpoulos to Grab Bag (10 answers total)

Compass rose
posted by 517 at 8:22 AM on July 27, 2005

Don't know if it has a name, but it's a symbol for venus.
posted by dhruva at 8:23 AM on July 27, 2005

There's also the quaker star.
posted by goethean at 8:40 AM on July 27, 2005

The style is googie. I couldn't find a good site that names design elements quickly, but I imagine there is a name for it. Googie sites or books might be a good place to start.
posted by frykitty at 8:56 AM on July 27, 2005

Well, I'm dumb. In the "Googie 101" section of the site I linked, they name the elements. It's just called a "starburst".
posted by frykitty at 8:58 AM on July 27, 2005

Google images seems to think that starburst covers a wider range of designs.
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:55 AM on July 27, 2005

symbols.com doesn't say it has a special name, just eightpointed star.
posted by geeky at 10:09 AM on July 27, 2005

octagram?
posted by ori at 10:10 AM on July 27, 2005

I know you're after a symbol name rather than an origin, but in astronomy these are "diffraction spikes" caused by the "spider", which supports the small secondary mirror in reflector telescopes. Refractors do not create these spikes. Likely the artwork meme comes from reflector telescope photos.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:29 AM on July 27, 2005

In heraldry, that is a "mullet of eight points." Which is a fancy way of saying an eight-pointed star, since a star in heraldry is called a mullet. (There is also an estoile, which is like a mullet but with wavy points.)
posted by litlnemo at 2:00 PM on July 27, 2005