Although Bayer letters are normally Greek, it should also be mentioned that the system was extended, first by using lowercase Latin letters, and then by using uppercase Latin letters. These are not commonly used now, but there are some exceptions such as h Persei (which is actually a star cluster) and P Cygni. Note that uppercase Latin Bayer designations never went beyond Q, and names such as W Virginis are [variable designations]?, not Bayer designations. |
Although most common Bayer letters are Greek, it should also be mentioned that the system was extended, first by using lowercase Latin letters, and then by using uppercase Latin letters. Most of these are little used, but there are some exceptions such as h Persei (which is actually a star cluster) and P Cygni. Note that uppercase Latin Bayer designations never went beyond Q, and names such as W Virginis are [variable designations]?, not Bayer designations. |
See also Flamsteed designation. |
A further complication is the use of numeric superscripts to distinguish between stars with the same Bayer letter. Usually these are double stars (mostly optical doubles rather than true binaries), but there are some exceptions such as the chain of stars π1, π2, π3, π4, π5 and π6 Orionis. See also Flamsteed designation and star designations. |