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Stellar designations and names. In astronomy, stars have a variety of different stellar designations and names, including catalogue designations, current and historical proper names, and foreign language names. Only a tiny minority of known stars have proper names; all others have only designations from various catalogues or lists, or no ...
Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, [2] it is the fourth-brightest star in the night sky, and the brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere. The name Arcturus originated from ancient Greece; it was then cataloged as α Boötis by Johann Bayer in 1603, which ...
Sirius. Ancient Greek: Σείριος 'the scorcher'; in Egyptian Sopdet, rendered in Greek as Σῶθις Sōthis. As the brightest star in the sky, Sirius has proper names in numerous cultures, including Polynesian (Māori: Takurua; Hawaiian: Ka'ulua ('Queen of Heaven'), among others). Also known as the "Dog Star".
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. [1] The first constellations likely go back to prehistory. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation, and mythology.
Astronomical naming conventions. In ancient times, only the Sun and Moon, a few stars, and the most easily visible planets had names. Over the last few hundred years, the number of identified astronomical objects has risen from hundreds to over a billion, and more are discovered every year. Astronomers need to be able to assign systematic ...
Many of the constellations and star names in use today derive from Greek astronomy. Despite the apparent immutability of the heavens, Chinese astronomers were aware that new stars could appear. [13] In 185 AD, they were the first to observe and write about a supernova, now known as SN 185. [14]
Antares is a variable star and is listed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars, but as a Bayer-designated star it does not have a separate variable star designation. [ 16 ] Its traditional name Antares derives from the Ancient Greek Ἀντάρης , [ 17 ] meaning "rival to Ares ", due to the similarity of its reddish hue to the ...
A classical planet is an astronomical object that is visible to the naked eye and moves across the sky and its backdrop of fixed stars (the common stars which seem still in contrast to the planets). Visible to humans on Earth there are seven classical planets (the seven luminaries). They are from brightest to dimmest: the Sun, the Moon, Venus ...