Flamsteed name
The Flamsteed names are used in astronomy in parallel to the Bayer names for the systematic naming of stars . They were introduced by the British astronomer John Flamsteed .
The name consists of the Flamsteed number followed by the genitive of the Latin name of the constellation in which the star is located, e.g. B. 13 Lyrae or 23 Ursae Maioris . In books and tables it is common to use the three-letter abbreviation of the constellation name, e.g. B. 13 Lyr, 23 UMa. Flamsteed numbered the stars visible to the naked eye in ascending order according to right ascension ; because of the precession , this sequence has now been broken in places.
This type of name first appeared in Flamsteed's Historia coelestis Britannica , published in 1712 by Edmond Halley and Isaac Newton , but without Flamsteed's consent. After Flamsteed's death, another edition supplemented by Halley appeared in 1725 . The Flamsteed numbers gained popularity in the 18th century and are also used today where there is no Bayer designation for a star. Since Flamsteed only made his celestial observations from Great Britain , his catalog only contains the stars visible from there, i.e. correspondingly few of the southern sky.
As with the Bayer names, due to the official reallocation of the constellation boundaries by the IAU, there are a number of stars whose Flamsteed names they would assign to other constellations than the ones that are common today. These are therefore no longer used.