ASE Terminology Standards

The ASE is deeply rooted in both science and humanities, as cultural astronomy connects ancient terms to modern star catalogues and nomenclature. One of the biggest challenges of such a global collection of names from different cultures is finding a common language that works for all philologies, for science and humanities. Following in the footsteps of the philosophers of the Vienna Circle (e.g. Otto Neurath, Rudolf Carnap) of the 1930s, the editors seek to establish a common language of different branches of astronomy.

This requires some terms to be defined or redefined here. Please use this like a glossary.

Glossary

Asterisms, Constellation, Stars

Asterism

The ancient Greek term "asterismos" simply means "constellation". It is the direct translation, no difference.

Today's modern amateur astronomy uses it for all sorts of small recognisable patterns -- might they be visible to the naked eye (e.g. the Big Dipper' or only with binoculars (e.g. the Cloth Hanger').

Sinology uses the term for historical constellations, but also has the term “single star-asterism” for names of bright stars and their adjacent (dark) areas or areas with faint stars. The boundaries between “single star-asterism” and “star name” are, of course, fluid, but the existence of this concept makes the term “asterism” an umbrella term for different sorts of recognisable patters: one star-asterisms and multi star-asterisms.

Hence, the ASE uses as an umbrella term for named recognisable patterns in the sky.

Constellation

In most modern cultures, a constellation is pattern of stars (dots of light in the sky), a multi star-asterism.

Yet in several historical cultures, some constellations were enriched by, or consisted only of, bright and dark clouds in the Milky Way or star clusters. This sort of constellations are called "cloud constellations", among them "dark constellations" as a specific form of patterns formed of dark clouds of the Milky Way.

In some far northern cultures with midnight sun in summer and no sunrise in winter, several cultures formed "full sky constellations" which are imagined figures that span the entire dome visible during winter nights.

Subgroups of "Constellation" are, therefore:

• Multi Star-Asterism
• Cloud Constellation
  • Dark Constellation
  • Star Cluster
• Full Sky-Constellation

Single Star-Asterism

Is a name of a bright star with adjacent areas (perhaps only dark, perhaps including faint stars). For example: The ancient Egyptians had the term "Sopdet" for a constellation of three stars as documented in early sources from the 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE. Yet (at least in late times, perhaps already in the 2nd millennium) when observed at heliacal rising, we deal with a twilight scenario. The brightest star of the three, Sirius, might be the only one visible when the sky is not completely dark. Subsequently, the name became also a synonym for Sirius knowing that the asterism covers also adjacent areas.

In Chinese astrological omens in chronicles, occasionally so-called "guest stars" (comets or stellar transients) are mentioned "in" asterisms whose names actually refer to only one star (as if a modern observer said "guest star in Arcturus"). Statements like this - if they are not historical copying errors or other misinterpretations) only make sense if the names of Chinese single star-asterisms are interpreted as "star plus adjacent dark area".

Star

The modern IAU-definition of a star is a ball of plasma (for more details see IAU Office of Education, Glossary, Star).

In common, casual language (and in historical texts that predate the understanding of the energy source of stars underlying the IAU definition), a star is usually a dot of light in the sky. English terms like "morning star" and "evening star" for an object that it actually a planet (and not a star) emphasise this colloquial use of the word "star".

Hence, in the encyclopaedia of names for all sorts of objects in the sky, we use the term "star" literally for a dot of light. We distinguish planets (as their motion can be observed with the naked eye) and constellations, as they are formed by more than one dot of light.

Please note that historical texts occasionally consider globular star clusters also as "stars" (e.g. Omega Centauri). These cases are treated specially by us insofar as we specify their physical nature in the entry of the name and may assign them to one ot both categories in our category tree.

Super-Constellation

A super-constellation is a group of neighbouring constellations that belong together and form a complex image; e.g., in the IAU definition, "Ophiuchus and Serpens" is a super-constellation consisting of the areas of Ophiuchus, Serpens Cauda, and Serpens Caput, among which the latter two form the IAU constellation Serpens.

Similarly in historical texts in Greek antiquity, Centaurus and Lupus (and perhaps Ara) formed a super-constellation. In Chinese uranography, the Purple Palace (Zigong), the White Tiger, Dark Warrior, Azure Dragon, and Red Firebird, the Celestial Market Place, and the Supreme Palace ... form super-constellations.

Small Bodies, Planets, Exoplanets, Moons etc.

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