Pulcherrima - Revision history

YoulaAzkarrula: infobox

2026-08-17T02:06:31Z

infobox

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 [[File:Struve1837 Mensurae-Micrometricae1824-1837 Pulcherrima.jpg|thumb|Pulcherrima in Struve (1837) Mensurae Micrometricae 1824-1837. Epsilon Boötis was number 1877 in this catalogue, and so is also known as Struve 1877, STF 1877, or Σ 1877. ]]
 [[File:A photo of the star Epsilon Bootis.jpg|thumb|photo of Epsilon Bootis (CC BY Nikolay Nikolov).]]
 The name Pulcherrima comes from a description of the double star Epsilon Boötis (mags. 2.6 and 4.8) by Friedrich G. W. von Struve in 1837.<ref>Struve (1837). ''Mensurae Micrometricae'' 1824-1837. </ref> The Latin name translates to "most beautiful" or "loveliest," referring to its striking, contrasting colors — a bright yellow primary and a blue-white secondary star. The official IAU name for Epsilon Boötis A (ε Boo A) is [[Izar]], adopted in 2016. In 2026 ε Boo B was named Pulcherrima.

IanRidpath: /* Reference */ Reformatted link

2026-07-23T21:32:30Z

Reference: Reformatted link

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	* [[References\|References (general)]]		* [[References\|References (general)]]
	* [[References (Medieval and Early Modern)\|References (early modern)]]		* [[References (Medieval and Early Modern)\|References (early modern)]]
	* Ian Ridpath's ''Star Tales'' – ~~Boötes(~~[http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/bootes.html#arcturus])		* Ian Ridpath's ''Star Tales'' – [http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/bootes.html#arcturus Boötes]

	[[Category:Asterism‏‎]]		[[Category:Asterism‏‎]]

YoulaAzkarrula at 05:35, 8 June 2026

2026-06-08T05:35:22Z

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	[[Category:Eurasia]]		[[Category:Eurasia]]
	[[Category:European]]		[[Category:European]]
	[[Category:~~Modern~~]] [[Category:Boo]]		[[Category:Global]] [[Category:Boo]] [[Category:Modern]]

YoulaAzkarrula at 12:22, 26 May 2026

2026-05-26T12:22:24Z

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	[[Category:Eurasia]]		[[Category:Eurasia]]
	[[Category:European]]		[[Category:European]]
	[[Category:Modern]]		[[Category:Modern]] [[Category:Boo]]

IanRidpath: /* IAU Working Group on Star Names */ Copy edit, added note about Struve number in caption.

2026-04-18T08:58:42Z

IAU Working Group on Star Names: Copy edit, added note about Struve number in caption.

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:58, 18 April 2026
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	Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}		Authors: {{PAGEAUTHORS}}
	----		----
	[[File:Struve1837 Mensurae-Micrometricae1824-1837 Pulcherrima.jpg\|thumb\|Pulcherrima in Struve (1837) Mensurae Micrometricae 1824-1837 ]]		[[File:Struve1837 Mensurae-Micrometricae1824-1837 Pulcherrima.jpg\|thumb\|Pulcherrima in Struve (1837) Mensurae Micrometricae 1824-1837. Epsilon Boötis was number 1877 in this catalogue, and so is also known as Struve 1877, STF 1877, or Σ 1877. ]]
	[[File:A photo of the star Epsilon Bootis.jpg\|thumb\|photo of Epsilon Bootis (CC BY Nikolay Nikolov).]]		[[File:A photo of the star Epsilon Bootis.jpg\|thumb\|photo of Epsilon Bootis (CC BY Nikolay Nikolov).]]
	The name Pulcherrima comes from a description of the double star Epsilon Boötis (mags. 2.5 and 4.8) by Friedrich G. W. von Struve in 1837.<ref>Struve (1837). ''Mensurae Micrometricae'' 1824-1837. </ref> The Latin name translates to "most beautiful" or "loveliest," referring to its striking, contrasting colors — a bright yellow primary and a blue-white secondary star. The official IAU name for Epsilon Boötis A (ε Boo A) is [[Izar]], adopted in 2016 ~~and in~~ 2026, ε Boo B was named Pulcherrima.		The name Pulcherrima comes from a description of the double star Epsilon Boötis (mags. 2.6 and 4.8) by Friedrich G. W. von Struve in 1837.<ref>Struve (1837). ''Mensurae Micrometricae'' 1824-1837. </ref> The Latin name translates to "most beautiful" or "loveliest," referring to its striking, contrasting colors — a bright yellow primary and a blue-white secondary star. The official IAU name for Epsilon Boötis A (ε Boo A) is [[Izar]], adopted in 2016. In 2026 ε Boo B was named Pulcherrima.

	==Concordance, Etymology, History==		==Concordance, Etymology, History==
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	The name '''Pulcherrima''' was adopted by the IAU Working Group Star Names for Epsilon Boötis B (HR 5505, HD 129988, HIP 72105 B) on April 15, 2026. The companion star to Epsilon Boötis was unknown before its discovery by Herschel in the late 18th century, so it has no earlier cultural names, and the name Pulcherrima would recognize the descriptions of the "beautiful" double star by the famous double star observers William Herschel and Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve.		The name '''Pulcherrima''' was adopted by the IAU Working Group Star Names for Epsilon Boötis B (HR 5505, HD 129988, HIP 72105 B) on April 15, 2026. The companion star to Epsilon Boötis was unknown before its discovery by Herschel in the late 18th century, so it has no earlier cultural names, and the name Pulcherrima would recognize the descriptions of the "beautiful" double star by the famous double star observers William Herschel and Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve.

	Pulcherrima (Epsilon Boo B) has apparent V magnitude 4.08 and spectral type A0V ~~(Abt & Morrell 1995)~~. According to the Washington Double Star catalog, where the binary is IDed as WDS J14450+2704 or STF 1877, the position angle of the binary has only moved by about 29 degrees between the time of Struve (1822) and recently (2024), with the separation changing negligible (2.2 to 2.4 arcseconds). The slow change in the position angle suggests that the orbital period might be of the order a few thousand years, and indeed no computed orbit appears in the ORB6 catalog of double star orbits. The system appears to be approximately 70 parsecs away. A distant third component (IDed in SIMBAD as eps Boo C or Gaia DR3 1279752168030730496) lies 78 arcseconds away from Izar and Pulcherrima, and its colors and absolute magnitude are consistent with a M dwarf.		Pulcherrima (Epsilon Boo B) has apparent V magnitude 4.80 and spectral type A0V in SIMBAD. According to the Washington Double Star catalog, where the binary is IDed as WDS J14450+2704 or STF 1877, the position angle of the binary has only moved by about 29 degrees between the time of Struve (1822) and recently (2024), with the separation changing negligible (2.2 to 2.4 arcseconds). The slow change in the position angle suggests that the orbital period might be of the order a few thousand years, and indeed no computed orbit appears in the ORB6 catalog of double star orbits. The system appears to be approximately 70 parsecs away. A distant third component (IDed in SIMBAD as eps Boo C or Gaia DR3 1279752168030730496) lies 78 arcseconds away from Izar and Pulcherrima, and its colors and absolute magnitude are consistent with an M dwarf.

	== Weblinks ==		== Weblinks ==

Sushoff at 15:00, 17 April 2026

2026-04-17T15:00:43Z

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	[[File:Struve1837 Mensurae-Micrometricae1824-1837 Pulcherrima.jpg\|thumb\|Pulcherrima in Struve (1837) Mensurae Micrometricae 1824-1837 ]]		[[File:Struve1837 Mensurae-Micrometricae1824-1837 Pulcherrima.jpg\|thumb\|Pulcherrima in Struve (1837) Mensurae Micrometricae 1824-1837 ]]
	[[File:A photo of the star Epsilon Bootis.jpg\|thumb\|photo of Epsilon Bootis (CC BY Nikolay Nikolov).]]		[[File:A photo of the star Epsilon Bootis.jpg\|thumb\|photo of Epsilon Bootis (CC BY Nikolay Nikolov).]]
	The name Pulcherrima comes from a description of the double star Epsilon Boötis (mags. 2.5 and 4.8) by Friedrich G. W. von Struve in 1837.<ref>Struve (1837). ''Mensurae Micrometricae'' 1824-1837. </ref> The Latin name translates to "most beautiful" or "loveliest," referring to its striking, contrasting colors — a bright yellow primary and a blue-white secondary star. The official IAU name for Epsilon Boötis A (ε Boo A) is [[Izar]], adopted in 2016.		The name Pulcherrima comes from a description of the double star Epsilon Boötis (mags. 2.5 and 4.8) by Friedrich G. W. von Struve in 1837.<ref>Struve (1837). ''Mensurae Micrometricae'' 1824-1837. </ref> The Latin name translates to "most beautiful" or "loveliest," referring to its striking, contrasting colors — a bright yellow primary and a blue-white secondary star. The official IAU name for Epsilon Boötis A (ε Boo A) is [[Izar]], adopted in 2016 and in 2026, ε Boo B was named Pulcherrima.

	==Concordance, Etymology, History==		==Concordance, Etymology, History==

IanRidpath at 13:24, 17 April 2026

2026-04-17T13:24:22Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:24, 17 April 2026
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	[[File:Struve1837 Mensurae-Micrometricae1824-1837 Pulcherrima.jpg\|thumb\|Pulcherrima in Struve (1837) Mensurae Micrometricae 1824-1837 ]]		[[File:Struve1837 Mensurae-Micrometricae1824-1837 Pulcherrima.jpg\|thumb\|Pulcherrima in Struve (1837) Mensurae Micrometricae 1824-1837 ]]
	[[File:A photo of the star Epsilon Bootis.jpg\|thumb\|photo of Epsilon Bootis (CC BY Nikolay Nikolov).]]		[[File:A photo of the star Epsilon Bootis.jpg\|thumb\|photo of Epsilon Bootis (CC BY Nikolay Nikolov).]]
	The name Pulcherrima ~~was given to~~ the double star Epsilon Boötis (mags. 2.5 and 4.8) by Friedrich G. W. von Struve in 1837.<ref>Struve (1837). ''Mensurae Micrometricae'' 1824-1837. </ref> The Latin name translates to "most beautiful" or "loveliest," referring to its striking, contrasting colors — a bright yellow primary and a blue-white secondary star. The official IAU name for Epsilon Boötis A (ε Boo A) is [[Izar]], adopted in 2016.		The name Pulcherrima comes from a description of the double star Epsilon Boötis (mags. 2.5 and 4.8) by Friedrich G. W. von Struve in 1837.<ref>Struve (1837). ''Mensurae Micrometricae'' 1824-1837. </ref> The Latin name translates to "most beautiful" or "loveliest," referring to its striking, contrasting colors — a bright yellow primary and a blue-white secondary star. The official IAU name for Epsilon Boötis A (ε Boo A) is [[Izar]], adopted in 2016.

	==Concordance, Etymology, History==		==Concordance, Etymology, History==

Ericmamajek: description of the star

2026-04-17T05:03:35Z

description of the star

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:03, 17 April 2026
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	==IAU Working Group on Star Names==		==IAU Working Group on Star Names==
	~~In the course of the WGSN~~'~~s research on historical star names,~~ the ~~name "Pulcherrima" is being considered~~ for Epsilon Boötis B (HR 5505, HD 129988, HIP 72105 B), ~~but~~ has ~~not been adopted as yet~~.		The name '''Pulcherrima''' was adopted by the IAU Working Group Star Names for Epsilon Boötis B (HR 5505, HD 129988, HIP 72105 B) on April 15, 2026. The companion star to Epsilon Boötis was unknown before its discovery by Herschel in the late 18th century, so it has no earlier cultural names, and the name Pulcherrima would recognize the descriptions of the "beautiful" double star by the famous double star observers William Herschel and Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve.

	~~The companion star~~ to ~~Epsilon Boötis was unknown before its discovery by Herschel in~~ the ~~late 18th century~~, ~~so it~~ has ~~no earlier cultural names~~, ~~and~~ the ~~proposed name would recognize~~ the ~~descriptions by~~ the ~~famous~~ double star ~~observers W~~. ~~Herschel~~ and ~~F.G.W. Struve~~.		Pulcherrima (Epsilon Boo B) has apparent V magnitude 4.08 and spectral type A0V (Abt & Morrell 1995). According to the Washington Double Star catalog, where the binary is IDed as WDS J14450+2704 or STF 1877, the position angle of the binary has only moved by about 29 degrees between the time of Struve (1822) and recently (2024), with the separation changing negligible (2.2 to 2.4 arcseconds). The slow change in the position angle suggests that the orbital period might be of the order a few thousand years, and indeed no computed orbit appears in the ORB6 catalog of double star orbits. The system appears to be approximately 70 parsecs away. A distant third component (IDed in SIMBAD as eps Boo C or Gaia DR3 1279752168030730496) lies 78 arcseconds away from Izar and Pulcherrima, and its colors and absolute magnitude are consistent with a M dwarf.

	== Weblinks ==		== Weblinks ==

Sushoff at 13:55, 30 March 2026

2026-03-30T13:55:06Z

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	==Concordance, Etymology, History==		==Concordance, Etymology, History==
	[[File:Pulcherrima Smyth1844.png\|thumb\|Pulcherrima in Smyth 1844]]		[[File:Pulcherrima Smyth1844.png\|thumb\|Pulcherrima in Smyth 1844]]
	19th century German-Russian astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, known for his study of double stars, described the star as ''duplex pulcherrima'', Latin for “the loveliest double”. Perhaps, Struve was inspired to write 'Duplex pulcherrima' based on Herschel highlighting it as his first double in 1782 'Catalog of Double Stars'<ref name=":2">Herschel (1782). 'Catalog of Double Stars'. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London , 1785, Vol. 75 (1785), pp. 40-126 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/106749.pdf JSTOR-PDF]</ref>. Herschel wrote "A very beautiful object" and Struve Latinized Herschel's English "very beautiful" with the result of "pulcherrima". Struve himself appears not to convey any personal opinion on the star's beauty in his 1827 'Catalogus Novus'.		19th century German-Russian astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, known for his study of double stars, described the star as ''duplex pulcherrima'', Latin for “the loveliest double”. Perhaps, Struve was inspired to write 'Duplex pulcherrima' based on Herschel highlighting it as his first double in 1782 'Catalog of Double Stars'<ref name=":2">Herschel (1782). 'Catalog of Double Stars'. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London , 1785, Vol. 75 (1785), pp. 40-126 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/106749.pdf JSTOR-PDF]</ref>. Herschel wrote "A very beautiful object" and Struve Latinized Herschel's English "very beautiful" with the result of "pulcherrima". Struve himself appears not to convey any personal opinion on the star's beauty in his 1827 'Catalogus Novus'<ref>Struve, (1827). Catalogus novus stellarum duplicium et multiplicium. [https://books.google.de/books?id=428OmAF-61kC&q=pulcherrima&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false GoogleBooks]</ref>. There seems to be no mention of the description by Struve in Catalogus Novus (1827) [[https://books.google.com/books?id=428OmAF-61kC&q=pulcherrima#v=onepage&q=1877 star #1877], p.84; long discussion on measurements of the binary, compared to Herschel's observations]. He only mentions Herschel and South as having reported measurements for it.

	In lower case, i.e. as a description of the star, the term "pulcherrima" occurs occasionally in the 19th century, but in the capitalised form, it appeared later. Before Burnham, there are two other notable instances of mentions that Struve dubbed it with the capitalized form: mainly Allen (1899)<ref name=":0">Allen, Richard Hinckley (1899). Star Names - Their Lore and Meaning. Dover Publications, Inc., New York</ref> and Darby (1864)<ref name=":1">Darby (1864). '''The Astronomical Observer''': A Handbook To The Observatory And The Common Telescope</ref>.		In lower case, i.e. as a description of the star, the term "pulcherrima" occurs occasionally in the 19th century, but in the capitalised form, it appeared later. Before Burnham, there are two other notable instances of mentions that Struve dubbed it with the capitalized form: mainly Allen (1899)<ref name=":0">Allen, Richard Hinckley (1899). Star Names - Their Lore and Meaning. Dover Publications, Inc., New York</ref> and Darby (1864)<ref name=":1">Darby (1864). '''The Astronomical Observer''': A Handbook To The Observatory And The Common Telescope</ref>.

Sushoff at 13:48, 30 March 2026

2026-03-30T13:48:04Z

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	=== Note on the date of first appearance ===		=== Note on the date of first appearance ===
	Some books claim that Struve invented this name in 1829, but the earliest we can find is on p.49 of his ''Stellarum duplicium multiplicium mensurae micrometricae'' of 1837. There he describes it as ''duplex pulcherrima'', “the most beautiful double”. The error seems to stem from Robert Burnham's well-known 3-volume ''Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond'' ''the Solar System'' (1978): [https://archive.org/details/burnhams-celestial-handbook-volume-3/Burnhams%20Celestial%20Handbook%2C%20Volume%201/page/n155/mode/1u archive]. He may have obtained this date from Smyth who lists an observation of the separation and position angle of the pair by Struve in 1829. The erroneous attribution of the ~~capitalized~~ name "Pulcherrima" to Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve also appears books by Darby (1864; "The Astronomical Observer") and Allen (1899; "Star-names and Their Meanings").		Some books claim that Struve invented this name in 1829, but the earliest we can find is on p. 49 of his ''Stellarum duplicium multiplicium mensurae micrometricae'' of 1837. There he describes it as ''duplex pulcherrima'', “the most beautiful double”. The error seems to stem from Robert Burnham's well-known 3-volume ''Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond'' ''the Solar System'' (1978): [https://archive.org/details/burnhams-celestial-handbook-volume-3/Burnhams%20Celestial%20Handbook%2C%20Volume%201/page/n155/mode/1u archive]. He may have obtained this date from Smyth who lists an observation of the separation and position angle of the pair by Struve in 1829. The erroneous attribution of the capitalised name "Pulcherrima" to Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve also appears books by Darby (1864; "The Astronomical Observer") and Allen (1899; "Star-names and Their Meanings").
	[[File:Herschel epsBoo double.png\|thumb\|Herschel, W. (1779). Catalogue of Double Stars, p 60]]		[[File:Herschel epsBoo double.png\|thumb\|Herschel, W. (1779). Catalogue of Double Stars, p 60]]