Stella Ludoviciana
Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Eric Mamajek
Stella Ludoviciana is a modern star name for HD 116798 (Vmag=7.58) adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is modern Latin. It is the name of a faint star between Alcor and Mizar in constellation Ursa Major.
Concordance, Etymology, History
Variants:
The name was made popular with its mention in Allen (1899)[1].
The star was observed on 2 December 1722 by the German theologian and scientist Johann Georg Liebknecht (1679-1749). He thought he observed relative motion (proper motion) to the neighbouring stars, Mizar and Alcor, and, therefore, mistook it for a planet. Subsequently, he named it after Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. Unknown to Liebknecht, it had been previously observed by the Italian mathematician and Benedictine monk Benedetto Castelli (1578 – 1643) in 1616.[3]
Mythology
IAU Working Group on Star Names
The name was discussed by the IAU WGSN in 2026, following a suggestion by the SIMBAD team. NO DECISION so far.
Weblinks
Reference
- References (general)
- References (early modern)
- Ian Ridpath's website (Star Tales )
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Allen, Richard Hinckley (1899). Star Names - Their Lore and Meaning. Dover Publications, Inc., New York
- ↑ J. Kelly Beatty (2009). "The Big Dipper Adds a Star". Sky & Telescope. 2009-12-11
- ↑ Siebert, Harald (2005). "The early search for stellar parallax: Galileo, Castelli, and Ramponi". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 36 (3): 251–271. Bibcode:2005JHA....36..251S. doi:10.1177/002182860503600301
