CSN
ASE is the newly founded “All Skies Encyclopaedia“, a project designed for the documentation of all historical and Indigenous names (no matter whether or not they are reflected in this catalog). It also has the full documentation of all the names we applied.
NEWC: NameExoWorlds Campaign.
NEC+: refers to our Naked Eye star Catalog (NEC) compiled from SIMBAD-data. DR1 was published in 2025, but we still occasionally find missing stars (due to missing data in the source database). NEC has 9303 “bright stars” (brighter than 6.5 mag in V) and other objects regarded as ‘stars’ historically. Numbers larger than 10,000 in “NEC+” are WGSN-Faints, i.e. named stars beyond the visibility limit.
Resolved binaries and multiple systems have more than one number in either the HR or the HIP star catalog, or are indicated with letters “A” and “B” in their HIP-numbers. As WGSN assigns cultural names to stars brighter than Vmag = 6.5, the given HR or HIP-designator should be unambiguous.
There are stars with only one HIP and HR number, though, that are indicated as “double or multiple” in SIMBAD. These are unresolved binaries. As we cannot predict future knowledge, we also cannot name it, and it would be anachronistic to name components prior to their listing in star catalogues. As soon as they get they “A”/ “B”… indicator in the HIP-catalog, we suggest to do the same with the name, or (in case of two-worded names) to split the name in two parts for the components.
Note: Because of the inconsistencies in HR, HIP and HD, we have created our own star catalogue (WGSN-id)
1. Collecting the etymologies of star names was a key project of WGSN 2018-’24; then, we had a “Task Group Etymologies” coordinated by Doris Vickers (Austria) and contributed to by many WGSN-members. Its task was merely collecting information on origins and references for the names adopted in the previous years.
2. In 2024, we launched a new project (ASE) to collect and publicly document this type of information while discussing name suggestions. Then, all historical and Indigenous names will be automatically accurately documented, and also the reasons for adoption or rejection for this catalog.
The IAU does not give any standard pronunciation for star names. They will be pronounced at conferences in the conference language (in most cases, English, but occasionally British/ American/Australian… versions may differ).
Yet, for the pronunciation in the original language, we do provide the IPA in our IAU-All Skies Encyclopaedia (https://ase.exopla.net/) – unfortunately not yet systematically: this is currently reworked in the ASE and in Stellarium.
EXAMPLE
Consider the commonly known star name “Altair” which is Arabic. The English pronunciation sounds like “old air” but in Arabic, the “L” is not spoken, the “R” is strong/rolled, the “A” is actually a small “o” and between it and the “i” is a break (for which English does not even have a letter). Yet, the English pronunciation is commonly known and understood among (amateur) astronomers all over the world.
This list is continually updated and added to by the WGSN.
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