Editing Star (section)

==Designations==
{{Main|Stellar designation|Astronomical naming conventions|Star catalogue}}
The concept of a constellation was known to exist during the [[Babylon]]ian period. Ancient sky watchers imagined that prominent arrangements of stars formed patterns, and they associated these with particular aspects of nature or their myths. Twelve of these formations lay along the band of the [[ecliptic]] and these became the basis of [[astrology]].<ref name=koch95/> Many of the more prominent individual stars were given names, particularly with [[Arabic]] or [[Latin language|Latin]] designations.

As well as certain constellations and the Sun itself, individual stars have their own [[mythology|myths]].<ref name="mythology">{{cite web
 | last= Coleman | first= Leslie S
 | url= http://frostydrew.org/papers.dc/papers/paper-myths/
 | title= Myths, Legends and Lore
 | publisher= Frosty Drew Observatory
 | access-date= 2012-06-15}}</ref> To the [[Ancient Greek religion|Ancient Greeks]], some "stars", known as [[planet]]s (Greek πλανήτης (planētēs), meaning "wanderer"), represented various important deities, from which the names of the planets [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], [[Venus]], [[Mars]], [[Jupiter]] and [[Saturn]] were taken.<ref name="mythology" /> ([[Uranus]] and [[Neptune]] were [[Greek mythology|Greek]] and [[Roman mythology|Roman gods]], but neither planet was known in Antiquity because of their low brightness. Their names were assigned by later astronomers.)

Circa 1600, the names of the constellations were used to name the stars in the corresponding regions of the sky. The German astronomer [[Johann Bayer]] created a series of star maps and applied Greek letters as [[Bayer designation|designations]] to the stars in each constellation. Later a numbering system based on the star's [[right ascension]] was invented and added to [[John Flamsteed]]'s star catalogue in his book ''"Historia coelestis Britannica"'' (the 1712 edition), whereby this numbering system came to be called ''[[Flamsteed designation]]'' or ''Flamsteed numbering''.<ref>{{cite web
 | url= http://www.iau.org/public/naming/ | title= Naming Astronomical Objects
 | publisher= [[International Astronomical Union]] (IAU)
 | access-date= 2009-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url= http://spider.seds.org/spider/Misc/naming.html | title= Naming Stars
 | publisher= [[Students for the Exploration and Development of Space]] (SEDS)
 | access-date= 2009-01-30}}</ref>

The internationally recognized authority for naming celestial bodies is the [[International Astronomical Union]] (IAU).<ref name=space_law09/> The International Astronomical Union maintains the [[IAU Working Group on Star Names|Working Group on Star Names]] (WGSN)<ref name="WGSN">{{cite web | url=https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/280/ | title=IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)|access-date=2016-05-22}}</ref> which catalogs and standardizes proper names for stars.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_stars/ |title=Naming Stars |access-date=2021-02-05}}</ref> A number of private companies sell names of stars which are not recognized by the IAU, professional astronomers, or the amateur astronomy community.<ref name=andersen10/> The [[British Library]] calls this an [[regulation|unregulated]] [[commercial enterprise]],<ref name=astrometry05/><ref name=bl_disclaimer/> and the [[New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection]] issued a violation against one such star-naming company for engaging in a deceptive trade practice.<ref name=pliat02/><ref name=sclafani19980508/>