Apart from the few formally approved by the IAU, and leaving aside commercial attempts, stars named after individuals fall broadly into two groups. The first group are those named openly for an individual connected with them in some way. The second, somewhat more obscurely, are those named after an individual but without explicitly making this clear.
Openly named stars There is a growing number of stars whose common names honour individuals. Many of these were highly significant in some way when discovered, usually through having some unusual characteristic. The best source to get these names is Sky Catalogue 2000.0, Volume 2 (Double Stars, Variable Stars, and Nonstellar Objects), in the chapter Glossary Of Selected Astronomical Names. • '''Abt's Star''' is SV Crateris (ADS 8115/ HD 98088/ β 600) in
Crater. Named after
Helmut Abt. • '''Andrews' Star''' is a suspected variable star in
Auriga (
HD 37519 / SAO 58319 / HR 1938). Named after
A. David Andrews. • '''Anthelm's Nova/Star''' is
Nova 1670 Vulpeculae, observed by
Anthelme Voituret (aka père Anthelme / don Anthelme). • '''Argelander's Star''' is
Groombridge 1830, a high proper motion star. Named for
Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander, who discovered its high proper motion in 1842. • '''Argelander's Second Star''' is
Lalande 21185, a nearby
red dwarf star. Named also for Argelander, who discovered its high
proper motion in 1857. • '''Argelander's Third Star''' is
Gliese 412, also known as Lalande 21258, a nearby binary pair of red dwarf stars. Also named for Argelander, who discovered its apparent high proper motion in 1860. • '''Baade's Star''' is the pulsar in the
Crab Nebula (Messier 1,
Taurus). Also known as the
Crab Pulsar, or PSR B0531+21. Named after
Walter Baade. • '''Babcock's Magnetic Star''' is HD 215441 in
Lacerta. Named after
Horace W. Babcock. • '''Baxendell's possible Nova''' (Nova Bootis 1860, T Bootis), discovered by
Joseph Baxendell in April 1860. • '''Becklin's Star''' is IRC -10093 in
Messier 42,
Orion. Named after
Eric Becklin. • The
Becklin–Neugebauer Object is an infrared source, possibly a
protostar, in the
Orion molecular cloud complex. Named after
Eric Becklin and
Gerry Neugebauer. • '''Bennett's Supernova''' (SN1968L in
Messier 83) discovered by
John Caister Bennett on 16 July 1968. • '''Bessel's Star
is 61 Cygni, for a short time the nearest star whose distance was accurately known (measured by Friedrich Bessel in 1838). Also called Piazzi's Flying Star''', since
Giuseppe Piazzi nominated it as a good candidate for distance measurements (
parallaxes). • '''Bidelman's helium variable star''' is V761 Centauri (
HD 125823). Named after
William P. Bidelman. • '''Bidelman's peculiar star''' is
KS Persei (HD 30353), a
PV Telescopii variable. • '''Bidelman's high-latitude Be star''' is HD 127617 in
Bootes. • '''Bond's Flare Star''' is AF Piscium in
Pisces, named after H. E. Bond. • '''Borrelly's Star''' is probably S Ceti (0h 23.8m / -9° 28'). Named after
Alphonse Borrelly. • '''Boyajian's Star
(or Tabby's Star''') is
KIC 8462852, an
F-type main-sequence star with a highly unusual
light curve in the
constellation of
Cygnus, named after
Tabetha S. Boyajian; its peculiar characteristics engendered speculation that a
Dyson sphere of an extraterrestrial civilization had been discovered. • '''Branchett's Object (Star)''' is a possible
nova in
Scutum (1981). • The
Brendan Downs Supernova is SN 1997de, in
Pavo (in galaxy NGC 6769). • '''Brewer's Star''' is HD 50169 (a magnetic star) in
Monoceros. Named after
K. R. W. Brewer. • '''Butler's Star''' is BT Tucanae / HD 6090 (a
flare star at 1:00:18 / -72°44'35" in the
Small Magellanic Cloud). Named after
C. J. Butler. • '''
Caffau's Star''' is an ultra-metal-poor
halo star named after the astronomer
Elisabetta Caffau. • '''Campbell's Star''' is HD 184738, which is the nucleus of
planetary nebula PK 64 + 5.1, in Cygnus. Named after
William Wallace Campbell. • '''
Cayrel's Star''' is an ultra-metal-poor halo star named after the French astronomer
Roger Cayrel. • '''Chanal's variable star''' is a suspected variable star in Orion (NSV 2229). • '''Chavira's Supernova''' is SN 1965H in
NGC 4666 (in
Virgo). Named after
E. Chavira. • '''Chevremont's Star''' is a variable star in
globular cluster Messier 2, in
Aquarius. • '''Chuadze's Supernova''' is SN 1967C in
NGC 3389 (in
Leo). Named after
A. D. Chuadze. • '''Chu's Object (Star?)''' in
Perseus, named after
You-Hua Chu. • The
Cohen–Schwartz Star is a
T Tauri star and infrared source in Orion. Named after
M. Cohen and
R. D. Schwartz. • '''Eggen's Nearby Star''' is CoD -31°622 in
Sculptor. Briefly thought to be near the Solar System but later found not to be. Named after
Olin J. Eggen. • '''Fehrenbach's Star''' is HD 116745 in globular cluster
Omega Centauri. Named after
Charles Fehrenbach. • '''Herschel's Garnet Star
is Mu Cephei, a red supergiant particularly remarkable for its deep red color, first described by William Herschel. The IAU-approved name for this star is Garnet Star''', without reference to Herschel. • '''Hind's Crimson Star''' is
R Leporis, a long-period
variable star, named after the discoverer
John Russell Hind. It is one of the reddest stars visible (a typical Cool Carbon Star, CCS). • '''Hind's New Star''' is
V841 Ophiuchi, or Nova Ophiuchi 1848. • '''Hoffmeister's Star''' is V442 Cassiopeiae (aka Sonneberg 9484). Named after
Cuno Hoffmeister. • '''Honda's Variable Star''' is a
long-period variable star (not a nova) in
Cygnus • The
Hulse–Taylor binary is PSR B1913+16 (a binary pulsar) in
Aquila. Named after
Russell Alan Hulse and
Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr. This discovery won them the
Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993. • '''Huruhata's Object''' is an
eclipsing binary in
Canis Minor. Named after . • '''Huruhata's Variable''' is the WZ Sagittae type
dwarf nova EG Cancri. • '''Huth's "moving star" of 1801-2''', discovered and observed by
Hofrath Huth at
Frankfurt an der Oder. Huth's "moving star" appeared in the constellation
Leo. • '''
Innes' star''', better known as LHS 40, is a high
proper-motion star named after
Robert T. A. Innes, the discoverer of
Proxima Centauri. In 1930
Luyten listed this as the fifth-closest star system, but his belief was mistaken as it turned out to be 41
light-years away. • '''
Kapteyn's Star''', a
subdwarf, was discovered in 1897 by
Jacobus Kapteyn, the star with the highest known
proper motion at the time of its discovery and is a halo star. • '''
Kepler's Star''', name given to the
supernova later designated
SN 1604 when first observed, after
Johannes Kepler, who studied it extensively though he did not have priority of discovery. • '''Klemola's Star''' is BD +10°2179 (SAO 99230) in Leo. It was named by
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in
Sydney. The star also falls within the larger
Torres Strait Islanders' constellation known as
Tagai, which is very culturally significant and used for
nautical navigation. • '''
Krzeminski's Star''' is a blue
supergiant, part of the
pulsar Centaurus X-3, discovered by the Polish astronomer
Wojciech Krzemiński in 1974. • '''Kurtz's Light Variable Star''' is HD 188136 in
Octans. These are all named after . • '''Lamont's Star''' is a peculiar star near the nucleus of the
Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31). • '''Latham's planet'
is the small red dwarf star or massive brown dwarf HD 114762 b in Coma Berenices, unofficially named Latham's planet'' after its discoverer David Latham (1989). • '''Liller's Star''' is a star near
Centaurus X-3. Named after
William Liller. • '''Lovas's Supernova''' is SN 1964E in MCG 9-20-51 (in
Ursa Major). Named after
Miklós Lovas. • '''
Luyten's Star''', another red dwarf, is named after
Willem Jacob Luyten, its discoverer. • '''Luyten's Flare Star''' is a nearby
UV Ceti variable (
L 726-8). • '''Merrill's Star''' is the high-velocity
Wolf–Rayet star WR 124, at the nucleus of the ejecta nebula PK 50+3 1 in
Sagitta (which it created). Named after
Paul W. Merrill. • '''Olbers' Star''' is a peculiar star in Virgo, at 13:14.1 / -16°33' (mentioned in the Deep-Sky Name Index 2000.0 by Hugh C. Maddocks) (Foxon-Maddocks Associates). Named after
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers. As seen from Earth, this star's location is very near galaxy
NGC 5030. • '''Oosterhoff's Star''' (also designated H Per 1166 and WD 0214+568) Named after . • '''Pearce's Star''' is
AO Cassiopeiae. Named after
Joseph Algernon Pearce. • '''Persson's Star''' is V733 Cephei, an
FU Orionis type object. Named after
R. Persson. • '''Piazzi's Flying Star
, see Bessel's Star'''. • '''
Plaskett's Star''' (also designated HR 2422) is one of the most massive
binary stars known, with a total mass of about one hundred times that of the
Sun. It is named after
John Stanley Plaskett, the Canadian astronomer who discovered its binary nature in 1922. • '''Popper's Star''' is
HD 124448, an
extreme helium star in
Centaurus. Named after
Daniel M. Popper. • '''
Przybylski's Star''' (also designated HD 101065) is a star that shows unusually high abundance of
lanthanide elements in its spectral lines, named for
Antoni Przybylski. • '''Ptolemy's Cluster''' is the open star cluster
Messier 7 (NGC 6475) in
Scorpius. Named after
Ptolemy. • The
Roberts–Altizer Variable Star is a galactic
U Geminorum star near
NGC 3147, in
Draco. • '''Rosino's Supernova''' is a supernova that was discovered by
Leonida Rosino in 1965, near
NGC 4753. • '''
Sakurai's Object''' (also designated V4334 Sgr) is an unusual red giant, named after . • '''Sanduleak's Star''' is a possible
symbiotic star in the
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Named after
Nicholas Sanduleak. • The
Sanduleak–Pesch Binary Star is a white dwarf binary in
Hercules. Named after Sanduleak and
Peter Pesch. • The
Sanduleak–Stephenson Star/Object is also known as Sanduleak-Stephenson 433,
SS 433 in Aquila, a
neutron star in radio source
W50. Named after Sanduleak and
Charles Bruce Stephenson. • '''Schaeberle's Flaming Star''' is the source of the Flaming Star Nebula
IC 405 (aka Cederblad 42) in Auriga,
AE Aurigae. Named after
John Martin Schaeberle. • '''Scheiner's Star''' is BD +15°2083 (HD 83225) in Leo. Named after
Julius Scheiner. • '''
Scholz's Star''' is a late-M dwarf + T-type
brown dwarf (M9.5 + T5) system, discovered in 2013 by
Ralf-Dieter Scholz. It has large parallax, but relatively small proper motion, and it is known for its close flyby to the Sun about 70,000 years ago. • The
Schweizer–Middleditch Star is a star near the center of
SN 1006 in Centaurus. Named after
Francois Schweizer and
John Middleditch. • '''
Sneden's Star''' is a giant star, named after
Chris Sneden. The star is known for its high-resolution spectroscopic observations. •
SN Refsdal is the first detected multiply-lensed supernova. • '''
Stepanian's Star''' is LX Serpentis, a 14th magnitude flare star (?). Named after
Jivan A. Stepanian. • '''Sugano's Star''' is a variable star in Orion, either V369 or V1143 Orionis. Named after
Clyde Tombaugh. • '''Tycho's Star''', name given to the
supernova later designated
SN 1572, after
Tycho Brahe, though he did not have priority of discovery. • '''Van Biesbroeck's Star''' is
VB 10, a very small, faint,
red dwarf named after
George Van Biesbroeck, who discovered it in 1944 – the smallest and faintest star then known. • '''Walborn's Star''' is the Wolf–Rayet star
BAT99-6 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in
Dorado. Named after
Nolan R. Walborn. • '''Warren and Penfold's (WP) Star''' is the optical counterpart of X-3 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Named after
P. R. Warren and
J. E. Penfold. • '''Weaver's Star''' is SS 38, the third discovered
symbiotic star with a
carbon star as the cool component. Named after
Wm. Bruce Weaver who first identified it as a symbiotic star in 1972. • '''Wild's Supernova''' is SN 1966J in
NGC 3198 (in Ursa Major). Named after
Paul Wild. • The
Zealey–Lee Supernova in the nucleus of an anonymous galaxy in
Grus. Named after
W. Zealey and
S. Lee. •
Navi for the star
Gamma Cassiopeiae and which is
Ivan spelled backwards, the middle name of
Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom. •
Dnoces for the star
Iota Ursae Majoris and which is
Second spelled backwards, alluding to
Edward Higgins White, II. •
Regor for the star
Gamma Velorum and which is
Roger spelled backwards, the first name of
Roger Bruce Chaffee. The names stuck, perhaps
in memoriam for their deaths in the
Apollo 1 fire, and were used through the rest of the program. Unknown to Grissom, these stars already had traditional names; however, those were not generally used, allowing the three new names to make their way into other records. Today, they are generally considered disused—some sources listing them as "traditional". The name
Tyl for
Epsilon Draconis, appearing in
Antonín Bečvář's
Skalnate Pleso Atlas of the Heavens, has an unknown etymology. It may have been covertly named by Bečvář after Czech writer
Josef Kajetán Tyl. It is possible, though unlikely, that further traditional names are in fact hidden names such as these, not yet identified.
Etymologies for many star names are not currently known.
Commercial naming As early as 1979, when the
International Star Registry was formed, private companies have attempted to sell the right to unofficially name stars. These companies have no legal standing to assign any star a name, and as such these names are never recognized by the astronomical or scientific communities. The IAU does not recognize this practice, and on its website describes it as "
charlatanry". ==See also==