Mike J Smith Star Details

The Mike J Smith Star

Star Naming

Only a few hundred of the brightest stars in the night sky have popular names. These names may well vary from country to country. Most of the names used in the Western world are derived from the names in Greek, Roman and Arabic mythology.

Professional astronomers use a different convention. Each constellation is identified by its Latin name. Within each constellation the stars are identified by a Greek letter of the alphabet in order of brightness. Thus the brightest star in a constellation is Alpha, the next brightest is Beta, and so on. In this way, we find that the brightest star in Orion is known as Alpha Orionis. However, this star is better known by its Arabic name of Betelgeuse.

The convention has great limitations. There are only 24 letters in the Greek alphabet, and there are 88 constellations. So, only 2112 stars can be identified using this system. The remaining millions of stars in the universe are identified only by astronomical co-ordinates or by catalogue numbers. The largest catalogue is the Guide Star Catalogue, created for the Hubble orbiting telescope, which identifies over 15 million stars.

Personally-named Stars

As mentioned above, there are millions of stars with no name. However it is now possible to have a star named for you through the International Star Registry. Since 1978, people have been naming stars, either for themselves, their loved-ones, their heros, or with some abstract concept which interests them. Over 150,000 stars have now been given personally chosen names.

The names include other types of "stars" such as Sylvester Stallone; double-up names like Rosemary & Howard Pecher; abstract names such as Dreams Come True Somewhere In Time; and those given as demonstrations of love, like Love Is Always & Forever - Matt & Lisa.

The star named Mike J Smith, is one of the 150,000 named stars in the universe.

Mike J Smith Star Data
DATA ITEM DATA EXPLANATION
Star Name Mike J Smith @@@@@@@@@@@@@ Name bought by wife, Jacky, as birthday present in 1996.

Star Number 5 2856 2213 As listed in the Hubble Star Guide Catalogue.

Constellation Perseus Named after the hero of Greek mythology.

Magnitude MV 11.3 The brightest star in the sky has a magnitude of zero. Each degree of lesser brightness is measured by a magnitude from one onwards. Stars with a magnitude of 10 (10 points duller than the brightest star) are just visible with the naked eye. Beyond that, a telescope is needed to see the star, and the Mike J Smith star, with a magnitude of 11.3, is in that category.

Co-ordinates RA = 03 hours 14 minutes 32.58 seconds
D = 42 degrees, 01 minutes, 17.004 seconds
RA = Right Ascension, which equates to longitude on Earth. The measurement is taken eastwards along the "celestial equator" from 0 to 24 hours.
D = Declination, which is equivalent to latitude on Earth. The measurements represent the angle above the imaginary "celestial equator" which is an extension of Earth's equator out into space.

**Mike J Smith Star Data**
DATA ITEM	DATA	EXPLANATION
Star Name	Mike J Smith @@@@@@@@@@@@@	Name bought by wife, Jacky, as birthday present in 1996.
Star Number	5 2856 2213	As listed in the Hubble Star Guide Catalogue.
Constellation	Perseus	Named after the hero of Greek mythology.
Magnitude	MV 11.3	The brightest star in the sky has a magnitude of zero. Each degree of lesser brightness is measured by a magnitude from one onwards. Stars with a magnitude of 10 (10 points duller than the brightest star) are just visible with the naked eye. Beyond that, a telescope is needed to see the star, and the Mike J Smith star, with a magnitude of 11.3, is in that category.
Co-ordinates	RA = 03 hours 14 minutes 32.58 seconds D = 42 degrees, 01 minutes, 17.004 seconds	RA = Right Ascension, which equates to longitude on Earth. The measurement is taken eastwards along the "celestial equator" from 0 to 24 hours. D = Declination, which is equivalent to latitude on Earth. The measurements represent the angle above the imaginary "celestial equator" which is an extension of Earth's equator out into space.

Home Page

The Legend of Perseus the Hero

Star Details

Perseus Sky Map

Star Registery

These Web Pages created
9th March 1998 by
Online Web Page Creations

Smith's
Links