alphabet (original) (raw)

THE GREEK ALPHABET

The Greek alphabet was used by Johannes Bayer around the year 1600 to name the brighter stars. The basic rule was to name them in order of brightness, but the rule is more often violated than not, the designations commonly also depending on the positionings of the stars within their constellations and other factors known only to Bayer. To the Greek letter is appended the Latin possessive form of the constellationname, Vega, the Alpha star of [Lyra](lyra- p.html), becoming Alpha Lyrae, and so on.

Table from The Ever- Changing Sky, J. B. Kaler, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996.