The science of astronomy evolved from the practice of astrology and that, in turn, came from mythology and theology. Thus, we do not have a rigorous and logical set of names for the planets, stars and nebulae. We have a rag-tag collection of appellations derived from a score of cultures and epochs. At times during the last few centuries, astronomers have tried to rename everything to some sort of standardized system but this has met with only limited success, primarily because the newer naming systems are complex and many people still refer to the more popular objects with their older, more easily recognized names. Thus, the star Polaris (the North Star) is also known as Alpha Ursæ Minoris. This second name for the star reflects the system of designating stars by constellation and brightness. Polaris is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor (Latin for the Little Bear). The second brightest star in that constellation is Beta Ursæ Minoris, the next brightest is Gamma Ursæ Minoris and so on.

This presents two immediate problems. First, the lettering is in a foreign language, Greek. Second, the spelling of the constellation is in yet another foreign language, Latin. If you go looking for it on a star chart, you will not find anything labeled ‘Ursæ Minoris’, for that is the genitive Latin version of ‘Ursa Minor’, which is used on star charts.