Astro*Dictionary
by Michael Erlewine

1 article for
"Named Star"

The ancient system of stellar nomenclature.

Modern astronomers sometimes make use of the star names of the brightest stars (Spica, for example), but prefer to use either a Greek letter plus genitive case of the constellation name (Alpha Centauri, for example), or a star's number from a specified star catalogue (BD1234, or 3723[FK3]).

 

See also:
♦ Fixed Star