Formal records for symbolic dedications

Open record

• Coordinates: RA (h m s), Dec (° ′ ″), with epoch stated (e.g., J2000).
• Catalog references: structured identifiers (e.g., SAO) when available.
• Inscription: recorded name and motto, preserved as submitted.
• Provenance: recorded-by and sponsor fields (when present).

• QR codes resolve through /r/<ID> to the canonical record at /registry/<ID>.
• Records are published as structured JSON for long-term readability and migration safety.
• Certificates and derived documents can be regenerated from the published entry data.

The night sky has been observed for millennia. Many familiar star names preserve layers of historical scholarship, particularly from Arabic astronomers who transmitted and expanded classical Greek knowledge. Names such as Vega, Deneb, and Betelgeuse reflect this long tradition of observation and translation.

Naming traditions. Modern astronomy relies on standardized catalog designations to avoid ambiguity. Catalogues such as SAO (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory), HIP (Hipparcos), and HD (Henry Draper) assign numeric identifiers that allow a specific star to be referenced consistently across scientific literature, star charts, and astronomical databases.

What a star is. A star is a luminous sphere of hot plasma held together by gravity and powered by nuclear fusion in its core. Hydrogen nuclei fuse into helium, releasing energy that radiates as light and heat. Depending on their mass, stars can shine for millions or billions of years.

Position in the sky. Astronomers locate stars using Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (Dec), coordinates comparable to longitude and latitude on Earth. Because Earth’s axis slowly changes orientation, these coordinates are referenced to a standard epoch, most commonly J2000.0, ensuring consistent mapping over time.

Brightness. Stellar brightness is measured using the astronomical magnitude scale, a logarithmic system where a difference of five magnitudes corresponds to a brightness factor of 100. Smaller or negative values therefore indicate brighter objects.

Two related measurements are commonly used. Apparent magnitude describes how bright a star appears from Earth, while absolute magnitude describes how bright it would appear at a standard distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years). These measurements, together with spectral classification, allow astronomers to compare stars and study their evolution.

The entries are symbolic dedications that do not confer official astronomical naming rights, but they are formal, unique, permanent and unrepeatable in the SAO catalog.