NAME |
PRONOUNCATION |
DESCRIPTION |
| |
|
|
| Acamar |
AKE-uh-mar |
theta
star (8th-brightest) in Eridanus |
| Achernar |
AKE-er-nar |
southern
anchor star of Eridanus |
| Adhara |
add-DARE-a |
star
at foot of Canis Major |
| Algieba |
al-JEE-ba |
gamma
(4th-brt) star in neck of Leo |
| Al
Nair |
al-NARR |
alpha
(1st) star in constellation Grus |
| Albireo |
al-BEER-ee-o |
famed
binary is foot of Cygnus' cross |
| Alcor |
AL-core |
faintly
seen with Mizar in Big Dipper |
| Aldebaran |
al-DEBB-uh-ran |
alpha
star of Taurus, near the Hyades |
| Alcyone |
al-SIGH-o-nee |
bright
member of Taurus' Pleiades cluster |
| Alderamin |
al-DARE-uh-min |
alpha
star of northern sky's Cepheus |
| Algenib |
al-JEE-nib |
alpha
star of Perseus; near Algol |
| Algol |
AL-gall |
famous
eclipsing binary in Perseus |
| Alioth |
ALLEY-awth |
third
from the end of Big Dipper's handle |
| Alkaid |
al-KADE |
star
at end of Big Dipper's handle |
| Almach |
AL-mack |
Andromeda's
gamma star (4th-brightest) |
| Alnilam |
AL-nih-lam |
middle
star of three in Orion's belt |
| Alnitak |
AL-nih-tack |
first
(left) star in Orion's belt |
| Alpha
Centauri |
AL-fa
sen-TORE-rye |
trio
of stars is nearest, at 4.4 light-years |
| Alphecca |
al-FECK-a |
(or,
Gemma) is Corona Borealis' brightest |
| Alpheratz |
al-FEAR-ats |
alpha
star in Andromeda's big “V” |
| Altair |
al-TAIR |
alpha
star in Aquila constellation |
| Andromeda |
an-DROM-ed-da |
spiral
galaxy, biggest in our Local Group |
| Antares |
an-TAIR-eez |
red
giant star, the “heart” of Scorpius |
| aphelion |
af-FEE-leon |
an
orbit's point farthest from the sun |
|
apogee the
outermost distance of moon or other body in Earth orbit |
| Aquarius |
ack-QUAIR-ee-us |
one
of the familiar zodiac constellations |
| Aquila |
ACK-will-a |
this
const. straddles the celestial equator |
| Arcturus |
ark-TOOR-us |
in
Boötes; 4th-brightest star in night sky |
| Ariel |
AR-ree-el |
one
of Uranus' moons |
| Aries |
AIR-eez |
a
small constellation west of Taurus |
| Auriga |
oh-RYE-ga |
crown-shaped
const., in Winter Hexagon |
|
autumnal equinox about
Sept. 22, when sun crosses celestial equator; fall season starts |
|
|
|
| Bellatrix |
bell-LAY-trix |
across from Betelgeuse, corner of Orion |
| Betelgeuse |
BET-el-jooz |
(many say “Beetlejuice”), in Orion |
|
bolide |
BO-lide |
a
meteor’s explosive fireball |
| Boötes |
bo-OH-teez |
big const., between UMa and Cas |
|
|
|
| Camelopardalis |
ca-MELL-o-PAR-da-liss |
it lies between UMa and Cas |
| Canes Venatici |
KAY-neez ven-AT-iss-sigh |
home of the star Cor Caroli |
| Canis Major |
KAY-niss MAY-jer |
southern part of Winter Hexagon |
| Canopus |
can-OH-pus |
in Carina, hugging southern horizon |
| Capella |
ka-PELL-a |
in Auriga at top of Winter Hexagon |
| Caph |
KAFF |
top-right end star of Cassiopeia's “W” |
| Capricornus |
cap-rick-CORN-us |
bib-shaped const. east of Sagittarius |
| Carina |
ka-RYE-na |
we see just the top, in our southern sky |
| Castor |
KASS-ter |
the twin to brighter Pollux, in Gemini |
| Cassiopeia |
kass-see-oh-PEE-a |
const. is a “W,” or sometimes an “M” |
| Centaurus |
sen-TOR-us |
we see its top, but not Proxima Centauri |
| Cepheus |
SEE-fee-us |
far northern const., 'tween Cas & Draco |
| Cetus |
SEE-tus |
fairly big const., west of Taurus |
| Charon |
KAR-onn |
largest moon orbiting Pluto |
| Coma Berenices |
KO-ma bear-en-EYE-sees |
very rich in galaxies, this constellation |
| Cor Caroli |
kor CARE-o-lie |
a famous and rare variable star |
| Corona Borealis |
kor-O-na bor-ee-ALICE |
small but pretty “Northern Crown |
| Corvus |
KOR-vus |
small constellation south of Virgo |
| Cygnus |
SIG-nus |
Northern Cross; many nebulae are here |
|
|
|
|
data |
DAY-ta |
is preferred over “datta” by dictionary
|
| Delphinus |
dell-FINE-us |
here's home of Sualocin and Rotanev |
| Delta Cephei |
DELL-ta SEE-fee-eye |
it's prototype of all variable stars |
| Deneb |
DEN-ebb |
bright top star of Northern Cross |
| Denebola |
den-EBB-ola |
tail-end star of Leo the Lion |
| Draco |
DRAY-ko |
big const., almost surrounds Polaris |
| Dschubba |
JOO-ba |
middle of 3 stars at “head” of Scorpius |
| Dubhe |
DOO-bee |
alpha star is Big Dipper's pouring end |
|
|
|
| Eltanin |
el-TAY-nin |
marks “Dragon's head” of Draco |
| El Nath |
el NATH |
“horn tip” at end of Taurus' upper arm |
| Enceladus |
en-SELL-a-dus |
one of Saturn's moons |
| Enif |
ENN-if |
the nose of Pegasus' “winged horse” |
| Equuleus |
ek-KWOO-lee-us |
“The Colt” lies near Pegasus, of course |
| Eridanus |
eh-RID-a-nus |
“River,” runs from Orion to Hydrus |
|
|
|
| Fomalhaut |
FOAM-a-lawt |
nice alignment star, low in southern sky |
|
|
|
|
gegenschein
a faint
glow in the low twilight sky, opposite the sun’s position |
| Gemini |
JEM-in-eye |
home of “twins” Pollux and Castor |
| globular |
GLOB-yu-ler |
(not “globe”) clusters are spherical |
|
Greenwich
time |
GREN-itch |
same as
Universal time, or Zulu time |
|
|
|
| Hamal |
HAMM-el |
alpha star of small constellation Aries |
| Hyades |
HIGH-a-deez |
cluster sits far away behind Aldebaran |
|
|
|
| Iapetus |
eye-YAP-ituss |
one
of Saturn's moons |
|
|
|
|
Jovian of or
related to Jupiter; capital “J” preferred by College Dictionary |
|
|
|
| Kaus Australis |
KOSS oss-TRAY-liss |
the Teapot's lower-front star, in Sgr |
| Kochab |
KOE-kab |
lower front star in Little Dipper |
|
|
|
| Lacerta |
la-SIR-ta |
a zig-zag star line west of Andromeda |
| Lepus |
LEE-pus |
small constellation just west of Sirius |
| Libra |
LEE-bra |
constellation west of Scorpius |
|
libration |
lye-BRAY-shun |
very
slow oscillation of a satellite body |
|
linear |
LINN-ear |
relates to straight lines or one dimension |
| Lupus |
LOO-pus |
a far southern const., below Scorpius |
| Lyra |
LYE-ra |
home of Vega and the Ring Nebula |
| Lysithea |
lye-SITH-ia |
one of Jupiter's moons |
|
|
|
|
magnetosphere |
mag-NEE-toe-sphere |
where
Earth’s magnetic field has effect
|
| Markab |
MAR-keb |
southwest corner of the Great Square |
|
Martian is
capitalized or not, depending on a
publisher’s chosen style |
| Megrez |
MEE-grez |
front end of Big Dipper's handle |
| Menkar |
MEN-kar |
alpha star of Cetus, west of Taurus |
| Menkalinan |
men-KAL-in-nan |
to Capella's left, in Auriga |
| Merak |
MEE-rak |
lower front star of Big Dipper |
| Metis |
MEE-tis |
one of Jupiter's moons |
| Mintaka |
min-TA-ka |
right-end, 3rd star of Orion's Belt |
| Mira |
MY-ra |
Cetus' famous long-period variable star |
| Mirfak |
MURR-fack |
another name for Perseus' Algenib |
| Mirzam |
MURR-zam |
like a “wingman” to the right of Sirius |
| Mizar |
MY-zer |
double star next-to-end of Dipper handle |
| Monoceros |
mon-OSS-er-us |
a nice constellation just east of Orion |
|
moon
the
dictionary and the AP Stylebook both go
for lower-case “m” |
|
|
|
|
Neptunian is
capitalized or not, depending on a publisher’s chosen style |
|
nuclear |
NOO-clear |
sometimes mis-pronounced
|
| Nunki |
NUN-key |
bright star, the top of Teapot's handle |
|
|
|
| Ophiuchus |
off-fee-YOU-kus |
big constellation above Sgr and Sco |
| Orion |
o-RYE-un |
great nebula & const. in Winter Hexagon |
|
|
|
| Pegasus |
PEG-a-sus |
its Great Square isn't hard to find |
|
penumbra fainter
shadow outside an umbral
(fullest) eclipse of the moon |
|
perigee an
orbiting body’s position when closest to Earth’s surface |
| perihelion |
PAIR-ih-HEE-leon |
orbital point nearest to the sun |
| Perseus |
PURR-see-us |
“wishbone” figure, is home of Algol |
| Phact |
FACT |
star in far southern Columba |
| Phecda |
FECK-da |
lower back corner of Big Dipper |
| Pisces |
PIE-seez |
big constellation east & south of Pegasus |
| Piscis Austrinus |
PIE-sis oss-TRY-nus |
Fomalhaut's turf, in low southern sky |
| Pleiades |
PLEE-a-deez |
many of us prefer: “PLAY-a-deez” |
| Polaris |
po-LAR-iss |
or, po-LAIR-iss: It's the North Star |
| Pollux |
PAUL-lux |
Castor's brighter twin star in Gemini |
| Procyon |
PRO-see-on |
in Canis Major, part of Winter Hexagon |
| Puppis |
PUP-iss |
“The Poop” deck, as part of a freighter |
|
|
|
| Quaoar |
KWA-wahr |
Kuiper Belt object that some call
"the 10th planet" |
| |
|
|
| Rasalgethi |
rass-el-GEE-thee |
that's the alpha star in Hercules.... |
| Rasalhague |
rass-el-HAIG-wee |
....and its neighbor in Ophiuchus |
| Rhea |
REE-ya |
one of Saturn's moons |
| Rigel |
RYE-jell |
lower-right star of Orion's “hourglass” |
|
|
|
| Sabik |
SAY-bik |
begins the tail of Ophiuchus “kite” |
| Sadr |
SADDER |
is heart of Cygnus' Northern Cross |
| Sagitta |
sa-JIT-ta |
small const., just east of Hercules |
| Sagittarius |
saj-it-TAIR-ee-us |
big southern home of Teapot asterism |
| Saiph |
SAW-eef |
or: SAFE, lower-left corner of Orion |
| Schedar |
SHEDDER |
bottom-right star in Cassiopeia |
| Scheat |
SHEE-at |
upper-right corner of Great Square |
| Scorpius |
SKOR-pee-us |
big, easy find, home of Antares |
| Scutum |
SKOO-tum |
small const., home of Wild Duck Cluster |
| Shaula |
SHAW-la |
lambda star at end of Scorpius' tail |
| sidereal time |
sye-DEER-ree-al |
Earth's rotation against background stars |
| Sinope |
sin-OH-pee |
another of Jupiter's satellites |
| Sirius |
SEER-ee-us |
Siriusly, it's brightest star in night sky |
| Spica |
SPIKE-a |
we easily “spike to Spica” in Virgo |
| status |
STAY-tuss |
(hearing "stattus" is our favorite
peeve) |
| summer solstice about June 22,northernmost
sun moves southward; start of
summer |
| sun is capitalized or not,
depending on a publisher's chosen
style |
|
|
|
| Tarazed |
TAR-uh-zed |
just above-right of Altair in Aquila |
| Taurus |
TOR-us |
home of the Hyades and Pleiades |
| Thuban |
THOO-ban |
in Draco; this once was the North Star |
| Titania |
tit-TAIN-ia |
another of Uranus' satellites |
|
|
|
| Uranus |
YOU-ran-us |
seventh planet often is mispronounced |
|
|
|
| Vega |
VAY-ga |
(or VEE-ga) in Lyra, it's 26 lt-yrs away |
| Vela |
VAY-la |
(or VEE-la) is a southern constellation |
|
Venusian is
capitalized or not, depending on a
publisher’s chosen style |
|
vernal
equinox about
March 21, spring begins, sun
crosses equator northbound |
| Virgo |
VIR-go |
home of galaxies: Virgo-Coma Cluster |
| Vulpecula |
vul-PECK-you-la |
this const. is home of Dumbbell Nebula |
|
|
|
| Wezen |
WEE-zen |
bright star, 2,000 lt-yrs away in CMa |
|
winter
solstice about
December 22, sun farthest south, starts northward; winter |
|
|
|
Xena |
ZEE-na |
large object discovered in the
Kuiper Belt in 2002 |
|
|
|
|
zodiacal
light
the
reflection of sunlight from dust, near the
plane of the ecliptic |
| Zubenelgenubi |
zoo-ben-ell-jen-NEW-bee |
the lower bright one, in Libra |
| Zubeneschemali |
zoo-ben-ess-sha-MAY-lee |
...and the upper one, in Libra |
