Star Names That Start With C

There are currently 16 stars in the catalog of the International Astronomical Union whose names begin with the letter c. Most of these names have Arabic origins.

Castor and Copernicus are the most notorious stars since they are part of the zodiac constellations Gemini and Cancer respectively

The following table lists them all. Here’s what each of the columns mean:

Name: The proper or colloquial name for the star.

Constellation: The group of stars the star belongs to.

Bayern Designation: The ordered name for the star in the Bayern catalog of stars.

Designation: The ‘scientific’ name for the star in the IAU catalog. This is the name astronomers generally use.

Approval Date: The date the proper name was officially approved for the IAU catalog. Most names have been used for a much longer time though.

NameConstellationBayern DesignationDesignationApproval Date
CanopusCarinaα Carinae AHR 23262016-06-30
CapellaAurigaα Aurigae AaHR 17082016-06-30
CaphCassiopeiaβ Cassiopeiae AHR 212016-06-30
CastorGeminiα Geminorum AaHR 28912016-06-30
CastulaCassiopeiaυ2 CassiopeiaeHR 2652017-09-05
CebalraiOphiuchusβ OphiuchiHR 66032016-08-21
CelaenoTaurus16 TauriHR 11402016-08-21
CervantesAraμ AraeHR 65852015-12-15
ChalawanUrsa Major47 Ursae MajorisHR 42772015-12-15
ChamukuyTaurusθ2 Tauri AaHR 14122017-09-05
CharaCanes Venaticiβ Canum Venaticorum AaHR 47852016-07-20
ChertanLeoθ LeonisHR 43592016-07-20
CopernicusCancer55 Cancri AHR 35222015-12-15
Cor CaroliCanes Venaticiα2 Canum Venaticorum AaHR 49152016-07-20
CujamHerculesω Herculis AHR 61172017-02-01
CursaEridanusβ EridaniHR 16662016-07-20

This list does not include some of the proposed star names that are proposed every year, but still haven’t been fully approved and made official.

Find more star names that start with the letter:

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