Alternate Star Labels

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Overview

Overview

A small number of more prominent stars have proper names like Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Polaris. However, astronomers have long cataloged thousands of stars beyond the brightest ones we see. Several attempts over thousands of years to name all the visible stars have led to two main catalogs: Johann Bayer’s (1572–1625) catalog from 1603 and John Flamsteed’s (1646–1719) catalog published in 1725.

A view toward Orion with the alternate star labels turned on. As with all labels, the larger it is, the closer it is to you, but we do not draw labels too far into the distance, so these are all mostly nearby stars. We have Greek-named (Bayer catalog) stars, like “Alf CMa”, short for Alpha Canis Majoris (also known as Sirius), at bottom-center, and we also include Flamsteed-numbered stars for those without a Greek designation. We don’t see Alpha Orionis, for example, because it is too far away from our current position for the label to be drawn.

Tip

To effectively visualize these star names, it helps to limit the number of labels drawn. This is typically controlled by drawing only labels that are larger than specified size, thereby removing the smaller, more distant labels. This is controlled in the dual slider in Alternate Star Labels ‣ Renderable ‣ Labels ‣ Min/Max Size.

Bayer Catalog (Greek Names)

The Bayer names (which take precedence in this data set) are designated by a Greek letter along with the genitive form of the constellation name. The stars in Bayer’s catalog were ranked by brightness and their names are sequential through the Greek alphabet. For example, the brightest star in each constellation received the alpha designation (α, or Alf) because that is the first letter in the alphabet. The second-brightest star is named beta (β, or Bet), and so on to omega (ω, Ome), provided there are enough stars in the constellation. So, Betelgeuse is α Orionis and Rigel is β Orionis (we use a three-letter abbreviation for the Greek letter and the constellation names, for example, Alf Ori). See below for a key to the Greek abbreviations.

Flamsteed Catalog (Numbered Names)

The Flamsteed Catalog uses numbers as designations along with the constellation name. Originally they were sequenced according to their position in the sky; however, precession has created inconsistencies over the centuries. Flamsteed names take the form 58 Orionis, which is Betelgeuse. Unlike the Bayer names, which are limited by the twenty-four letters of the Greek alphabet, Flamsteed numbers can exceed 100 for a particular constellation.

Greek Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Greek symbol	Greek letter
Alf	α	Alpha
Bet	β	Beta
Gam	γ	Gamma
Del	δ	Delta
Eps	ε	Epsilon
Zet	ζ	Zeta
Eta	η	Eta
Tet	θ	Theta
Iot	ι	Iota
Kap	κ	Kappa
Lam	λ	Lambda
Mu	μ	Mu
Nu	ν	Nu
Ksi	ξ	Xi
Omi	ο	Omicron
Pi	π	Pi
Rho	ρ	Rho
Sig	σ	Sigma
Tau	τ	Tau
Ups	υ	Upsilon
Phi	φ	Phi
Chi	χ	Chi
Psi	ψ	Psi
Ome	ω	Omega

Profiles

Profiles

Default (Grand Tour)

Default-Full

Offline

Dossier

Dossier

Census:	3,440 stars
Asset File:	data/assets/scene/digitaluniverse/alternatestarlabels.asset
OpenSpace Version:	3
Reference:	Bayer and Flamsteed Catalogs via Simbad
Prepared by:	Zack Reeves, Brian Abbott (AMNH)
Source Version:	1.08
License:	AMNH’s Digital Universe