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You are here: Home / Space / How Do Stars Get Their Names and Do All the Stars In Constellations Also Have Names?

How Do Stars Get Their Names and Do All the Stars In Constellations Also Have Names?

May 18, 2020 by Karen Hill

Stars have names, but just like people, stars can have official names and nicknames.

For instance, the brightest star in the constellation Leo has long been called Regulus.

But not every star has been given a nickname, and nowadays it seems impractical to do so.

Stars in constellations are now classified from the brightest to the faintest.

The brightest star is given the first letter in the Greek alphabet, alpha (a), and the possessive form of the constellation’s Latin name.

The next brightest star has the second letter in the Greek alphabet and the constellation’s name, and so on.

So, our friend Regulus is officially identified as a Leonis.

Related Facts

  • What Are Constellations, How Did Constellations Get Their Names, and How Many Constellations Are There?
  • How do astronomers know how far away stars and galaxies are from earth?
  • What Is a Constellation?
  • Why Do We See Different Stars and Constellations In the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere?
  • Who discovered that Planets Exist Around Other Stars in the Universe and When?
  • Who Developed the Modern Alphabet?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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