Know the origins of the names of the stars

Antares, Procyon, Sirius – these star names probably mean something to you. Where do these denominations come from? How do astronomers name the millions of stars visible in the celestial sphere?

Names inherited from ancient times

The modern astronomer, with his telescope and other sophisticated devices, is neither the first nor the last to take an interest in the stars. Since ancient times, Mesopotamian shepherds and cultivators have scanned the sky for divine inspiration, or simply to locate themselves in time and space.

Without devices, they only had their eyes to observe the celestial sphere. As a result, only the brightest stars, and therefore the most visible, were named. However, the Mesopotamians had a highly developed knowledge of stars and asterisms, to the point of identifying more than a dozen constellations (nearby stars that form figures) known to this day as the signs of the zodiac.

The stars named by Arabs, Egyptians and Greeks

After the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians and Greeks also named constellations and stars observable in their regions. His observations made it possible to identify the position of famous stars such as Aldebaran, the star that follows the Pleiades, as well as Sirius, Deneb Kaitos, Denebola, Procyon and Antares.

The Greeks kept most of the Arabic names for the stars, but named the constellations in their own way. Thus, the constellations of the northern hemisphere, such as Pegasus, Perseus, Andromeda, Cepheus, the Whale and Cassiopeia, are still known today by their Greek name.

How do we name the billions of stars in the celestial sphere?

The names of the stars in the age of catalogs

Since the invention of the telescope, millions of other stars have been discovered. Therefore, astronomers have understood the importance of establishing a catalog of stars to better observe and study them scientifically. The German astronomer Bayer was the first to create this catalog, where he designates the stars by Greek alphabets, associated with the name of the constellation where they are found. The most notable star in a constellation inherits the letter, followed by the least bright (), and so on.

Catalogs are getting more and more precise as astronomers agree on how to locate stars on the celestial sphere. Today, there are hundreds of star catalogs that include no less than 15 million stars, a pinch compared to the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way.

Among the most famous are the Index Catalog, the NGC (New General Catalog), the Messier and the Bonn Catalog (BD). Therefore, the same celestial object can have two different names. Vega de la Lyre is called, for example, HD 172167 in the Henry Drapper catalog and Lyr in the Bayer catalog.

Give a star a name, really?

In recent years, companies around the world have offered people to name a star by name, at a price that varies widely depending on the operator. These entities agree to register the new name of the star in question with the United States (or European Union) Copyright Office. These baptismal names are not recognized by any official body.