Pulcherrima
Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, Eric Mamajek, IanRidpath
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.[1] 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
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”.
Proctor (1866) for name "Pulcherissima" states
"A name given by modern astronomers to express the extreme beauty of this double star (orange and green), viewed with a good telescope."
However the spelling "Pulcherrima" appeared much more often after mid-19th century. Admiral Smyth (1844)[2] cites Struve as the source of the name.
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): 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").
Burnham also errs in claiming that the binary character of Epsilon Boötis was first discovered by Wilhelm Struve; it was actually discovered by William Herschel in 1779. Indeed, it was the first double star listed in W. Herschel's first "Catalog of Double Stars" (1782) and he noted it as "a very beautiful object". As "very beautiful" can translate to "pulcherrima" in Latin, it is possible that Struve was simply acknowledging Herschel's description in his Latin notes on the system. Struve did not mention the "beauty" of the double in his original Catalogus Novus in 1827, but only described it as duplex pulcherrima in his 1837 work.
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Struve 1837 -
Smyth 1844 -
Herschel 1779 -
Burnham (1978) about Struve's name
Mythology
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 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.
Weblinks
Reference
- References (general)
- References (early modern)
- Ian Ridpath's Star Tales – Boötes([1])
