Editing Astronomical naming conventions (section)

=== Proper names  ===
{{see also|Stellar designation#Proper names|List of proper names of stars}}

There are about 300 to 350 stars with traditional or historical proper names. They tend to be the [[List of brightest stars|brightest stars]] in the sky and are often the most prominent ones of the [[#Constellations|constellation]]. Examples are [[Betelgeuse]], [[Rigel]] and [[Vega]]. Most such names are derived from the [[Arabic language]] ''(see [[List of Arabic star names#History of Arabic star names|List of Arabic star names §&thinsp;History of Arabic star names]])''.

Stars may have multiple proper names, as many different cultures named them independently. [[Polaris]], for example, has also been known by the names ''Alruccabah'', ''Angel Stern, Cynosura'', the ''Lodestar'', ''Mismar'', ''Navigatoria'', ''Phoenice'', the ''Pole Star'', the ''Star of Arcady'', ''Tramontana'' and ''Yilduz'' at various times and places by different cultures in human history.

In 2016, the [[IAU]] organized a [[IAU Working Group on Star Names|Working Group on Star Names]] (WGSN)<ref name="WGSN">{{cite web |title=IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) |url=https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280|publisher=International Astronomical Union}}</ref> to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016<ref name="WGSN1">{{cite web | url=http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/WGSN_bulletin1.pdf | title=Bulletin of the IAU Working Group on Star Names, No. 1 |access-date=28 July 2016}}</ref> included a table of the first two batches of names approved by the WGSN (on 30 June and 20 July 2016) together with names of stars adopted by the IAU Executive Committee Working Group on Public Naming of Planets and Planetary Satellites during the 2015 NameExoWorlds campaign<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1514/ |title=Final Results of NameExoWorlds Public Vote Released |publisher=IAU.org |date=15 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110180753/https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1514/ |archive-date=2022-11-10}}</ref> and recognized by the WGSN. Further batches of names were approved on 21 August 2016, 12 September 2016 and 5 October 2016. These were listed in a table included in the WGSN's second bulletin issued in October 2016.<ref name="WGSN2">{{cite web | url=http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/WGSN_bulletin2.pdf | title=Bulletin of the IAU Working Group on Star Names, No. 2 |access-date=12 October 2016}}</ref> The next additions were done on 1 February, 30 June, 5 September and 19 November 2017, and on 6 June 2018. All are included on the current List of IAU-approved Star Names.<ref name="IAU-LSN">{{cite web |title=Naming Stars |url=https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars|publisher=International Astronomical Union}}</ref>

The star nearest to Earth is typically referred to simply as "the Sun" or its equivalent in the language being used (for instance, if two astronomers were speaking French, they would call it ''le Soleil''). However, it is usually called by its [[Latin]] name, Sol, in science fiction.

==== Named after people ====
{{Main|Stars named after people#Nomenclature}}

There are about two dozen stars such as [[Barnard's Star]] and [[Kapteyn's Star]] that have historic names and which were named in honor after [[astronomer]]s. As a result of the NameExoWorlds campaign in December 2015 the IAU approved the names Cervantes (honoring the writer [[Miguel de Cervantes]]) and Copernicus (honoring the astronomer [[Nicolaus Copernicus]]) for the stars [[Mu Arae]] and [[55 Cancri|55 Cancri A]], respectively.<ref name="IAUnames">{{Cite web |url=http://nameexoworlds.iau.org/names |title=NameExoWorlds The Approved Names |access-date=2016-07-28 |archive-date=2018-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201043609/http://nameexoworlds.iau.org/names |url-status=dead }}</ref> In July 2016, the IAU WGSN approved the name ''Cor Caroli'' ([[Latin (language)|Latin]] for 'heart of Charles') for the star [[Cor Caroli|Alpha Canum Venaticorum]], so named in honour of [[King Charles I of England]] by Sir [[Charles Scarborough]], his physician.<ref>Richard Hinckley Allen, ''[[Star Names|Star-Names and Their Meanings]]'', G.E. Stechert, New York, 1899</ref><ref>Robert Burnham, Jr. ''Burnham's Celestial Handbook'', Volume 1, p. 359.</ref><ref>[http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/canesvenatici.html#corcaroli Ian Ridpath: "Star Tales", Canes Venatici]. See also Deborah J. Warner, ''The Sky Explored: Celestial Cartography 1500-1800''.</ref> In 2019, IAU held the [[NameExoWorlds]] campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nameexoworlds.iau.org/final-results|title=Approved names|website=NameExoworlds|language=en|access-date=2020-01-02}}</ref>