Star Names That Start With L

There are currently 6 stars in the catalog of the International Astronomical Union whose names begin with the letter l, but it’s debatable if La Superba should be listed here or in the letter S.

The most prominent ones are Lesath, and Larawag, both are part of the Scorpius constellation.

The following table lists them all. Here’s the nomenclature for the columns to the right:

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
La SuperbaCanes VenaticiY Canum VenaticorumHR 48462018-08-10
LarawagScorpiusε ScorpiiHR 62412017-11-19
LesathScorpiusυ ScorpiiHR 65082016-08-21
LibertasAquilaξ Aquilae AHR 75952015-12-15
LichVirgoPSR B1257+12PSR B1257+122015-12-15
Lilii BoreaAries39 ArietisHR 8242017-09-05

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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