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[a] Traditional astronomy tends to group stars into constellations or asterisms and give proper names to those, not to individual stars. Many star names are, in origin, descriptive of the part in the constellation they are found in; thus Phecda , a corruption of Arabic فخذ الدب ( fakhdh ad-dubb , 'thigh of the bear').
All stars but one can be associated with an IAU (International Astronomical Union) constellation. IAU constellations are areas of the sky. Although there are only 88 IAU constellations, the sky is actually divided into 89 irregularly shaped boxes as the constellation Serpens is split into two separate sections, Serpens Caput (the snake's head) to the west and Serpens Cauda (the snake's tail ...
In this list, a star is identified by a lower-case letter of the Greek alphabet, followed by the Latin name of its parent constellation. The Bayer designation uses the possessive form of a constellation's name, which in almost every case ends in is, i or ae; um if the constellation's name is plural (see genitive case for constellations). In ...
The following lists of constellations are available: IAU designated constellations – a list of the current, or "modern", constellations; Former constellations – a list of former constellations; Chinese constellations – traditional Chinese astronomy constellations; List of Nakshatras – sectors along the Moon's ecliptic
The constellations along the ecliptic are called the zodiac. When explorers mapped the stars of the southern skies, European astronomers proposed new constellations for that region, as well as ones to fill gaps between the traditional constellations. Because of their Roman and European origins, every constellation has a Latin name.
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 identifier at all.
Gould designations for stars are similar to Flamsteed designations in the way that they number stars within a constellation in increasing order of right ascension.Each star is assigned an integer (starting at 1), followed by " G. " (or occasionally followed directly by a "G" without a space), and then the Latin genitive of the constellation it lies in.
Constellation names are indicated in uppercase text. Selected star of magnitude 1.5 and brighter. Labeled with common name, star number, and Greek letter to indicate Bayer designation. Selected star of magnitude 1.6 and fainter. Labeled with common name, star number, and Greek letter to indicate Bayer designation.