Some of the more famous star listings include the Henry Draper Catalogue (HD), the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Star Catalog (SAO), the Bright Star Catalogue (HR), and the Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars (Gl and GJ). Astronomers have been cataloging stars for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Of the ancient listings, the 2nd century work of Ptolemy of Alexandria stands as the perhaps most famous, which extended the work of the great Greek astronomer Hipparchus, three centuries earlier.

Flamsteed's "Historia Coelestis Britannica" became, in 1725, the first major star catalog produced with the aid of the telescope. In that work, stars were arranged for each constellation in order of increasing right ascension (the celestial equivalent of longitude). Other astronomers, using that sequence, numbered the stars to give the so-called Flamsteed numbers still used today. So, for example, the 52nd star from the Western border of Cetus is called, in the Flamsteed system, 52 Ceti (the numeral "52" plus the possessive or genitive form of the constellation's name). In the Bayer system (see "Greek Letters and Constellations" using the link, below), the same star is called "Tau Ceti." In this software, as in many other references, both identities are used, starting with the Flamsteed number — "52 Tau Ceti."

In the Star Data Display of the software, "Stars in the NeighborHood™," several catalog numbers are displayed for each stellar object.

MSDB — Merge Star Database, developed by Tharsis Highlands to give a separate record for each stellar object. See "Merge Star Database" using the link, below.

Flamsteed-Bayer — The combination of Flamsteed numbers and Bayer (Greek letter) designations.

HD — From the Henry Draper Catalogue and Henry Draper Extension.

HR — From the Bright Star Catalogue. The "HR" number comes from the "Harvard Revised Photometry," part of the Harvard Annals at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Gliese (Gl & GJ) — From the Catalogue of Nearby Stars.

SAO — From the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Star Catalog.

DM — From the Durchmusterung catalogs — BD – Bonner Durchmusterung, CD (CoD) – Cordoba Durchmusterung, and CP (CPD) – Cape Durchmusterung.

ADS — From the Aitken General Catalogue of Double Stars.

Wolf & Ross — Two catalogs of nearby and largely dim stars (red dwarfs and degenerate white dwarfs).

More on Individual Catalogs
Flamsteed-Bayer
The Henry Draper Catalogues
The Hipparchos Catalogue
The Yale Bright Star Catalogue
The Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars
The Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory Catalogue
The Durchmusterung Catalogues
The Merge Star Database Catalog
The Aitken Double Star Catalog

For more information on star names, click here.