[Kstars-devel] updating star names

[Jason Harris]

Hi Milton,

First of all, this is great work, thanks for the contribution!

On Wednesday 01 June 2005 18:27, mph wrote:
> As no one answered my last email, I don't know
> the appropriate procedure to make files available to the list.  
Sorry about that.  Posting URLs to the list is just fine, or you could send 
the file as an attachment (as long as it isn't too big).

> Let me know the procedure to review these
> suggested changes.  Does this need a version number?  How does with fit in
> with CVS (which I still have never used)?
Version number isn't necessary; the version control is handled by the SVN 
server (note that KDE just switched from CVS to SVN...they are very similar).  
Once we work out all the issues, you can submit a final version of hip001.dat 
tot he list, and I can commit it to SVN for you.  If you want to have the 
freedom to commit to the server yourself, we can eventually get you an SVN 
account.

> In this process, I also ran into a few questions and issues:
>
> I have never heard of the following star names from hip001.dat or could not
> find in my resources.  I would love the references that supply them
> (presumably from Jason who I'm guessing did all the prior data editing by
> hand):
>
> eps Cas: Navi
This star was named by astronaut Virgil Grissom (or by one of his colleagues).  
The Apollo I crew was going to use this star for navigation.  It's Grissom's 
middle name backwards.
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/star_names_030829.html

> xi Her: Marfik (I'm familiar using it for kappa Her)
Looks like Kappa is right:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_(constellation)

> Al Nair : alp Ind (I'm only familiar for alpha Gru)
Right again:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grus_(constellation)

but it looks like it is sometimes used for alpha Indi:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_(constellation)

> I noticed that the constellation outline for Eri includes a star of Cetus.
> Perhaps I'll need to do a review of that clines data at some point...
>
That would be great

> This review also brought up for me a concern about using Bayer/Flamsteed
> designations as a primary key for our data.  These designations are not
> unique, and it seems more appropriate to use the HIP number if we are using
> the HIP database.  I'm not sure if it is worth the change, but problems can
> arise.  Bayer used his designations for multiple stars.  (Pi Ori originally
> referred to 6 different stars!).  HD162003 and HD162004 are both psi Dra
> (or 31 Dra if you use Flamsteed).  This also raises questions about whether
> alpha1 or alpha2 in a binary pair should bear the name for a pair of stars.
> (I vote for the brighter one, but that wasn't consistent in our data)
>
This is a good point; we should just use the HIP sequence number internally.

> This process also brought up a few new wish list items for me:
> 1) Can we stop the display of the word 'star' in the display for stars
> without a name.  When you set the display to something like 'show magnitude
> < 5.2' it unnecessarily adds to the clutter.  (Of course, I don't mind it
> for the cool roll over effect!)
Good point.

> 2) Consider making 'Find' work for both Bayer designation and Common Name
> (right now they are exclusive).  I found this helpful in my job of trying
> to figure out if a star had a common name in our database, but I would
> think most people would want to be able to find alpha Ceti without having
> to know its name is Menkar.  This would solve the related problem of having
> two stars with the same common name (eg. Gienah).
You're right, you should be able to search by either name (as you can for 
deep-sky objects)

> I'm not sure if the telescope users would want it, but I also thought it
> might be nice to be able to search based on HIP or HD number.  Of course,
> the data structures would have to be rewritten which could be a mess.  If
> someone does want to tackle it, I'd be happy to work on the data portion.
Would be nice.  I'd be willing to add it to the code.  I think the HD numbers 
are more widely used than the HIP numbers.

> 3) Different display modes where only Bayer designations are listed or only
> the Common Names rather than the current mix of both.  This might not be an
> issue if we implement the previously discussed idea of modes to display
> alternative names (from other cultures or particular references like the
> Almagest).  This would be nice if you are only interested in one type of
> name.
Agreed.  Although, the status bar, popup menu, and details window show both 
names.

-- 
KStars: KDE Planetarium
http://edu.kde.org/kstars