Alpha Delphini

Alpha Delphini (α Del, α Delphini) is a multiple star in the constellation Delphinus. It also has the name Sualocin, which was given to it as a practical joke by the astronomer Niccolò Cacciatore; the name is the Latinized version (Nicolaus) of his given name, spelled backwards.

In Chinese, 瓠瓜 (Hù Guā), meaning Good Gourd, refers to an asterism consisting of α Delphini, γ² Delphini, δ Delphini, β Delphini and ζ Delphini.^[1] Consequently, α Delphini itself is known as 瓠瓜一 (Hù Guā yī, English: the First Star of Good Gourd.).^[2]

Properties

Alpha Delphini has seven components: A and G, a physical binary, and B, C, D, E, and F, which are optical binaries and have no physical association with A and G.

Alpha Delphini A/G Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) Constellation Delphinus Right ascension 20^h 39^m 38.287^s/38.287^s Declination +15° 54′ 43.49″/43.15″ Apparent magnitude (V) 3.9/6.4; combined, 3.77 Distance 241 ± 13 ly (73.8 ± 3.7 pc) Spectral type A: B9V Other designations α Del, 9 Del, BD +15 4222, CCDM J20396+1555A/G, HD 196867, HIP 101958, HR 7906, SAO 106357 Data sources: Hipparcos Catalogue, CCDM (2002)

Alpha Delphini B/C/D/E/F Observation data Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) Constellation Delphinus Right ascension 20^h 39^m 36.5^s/34.9^s/39.5^s/35.1^s/42.9^s Declination +15° 54′ 21″/ +15° 54′ 49″/ +15° 54′ 01″/ +15° 55′ 15″/ +15° 54′ 09″ Apparent magnitude (V) 13.4/11.9/12.9/12.6/10.7 Other designations CCDM J20396+1555B/C/D/E/F; also, see designations for Alpha Delphini A/G Data sources: CCDM (2002)

References

1. (Chinese) 中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, ISBN 978-986-7332-25-7.
2. (Chinese) 香港太空館 - 研究資源 - 亮星中英對照表, Hong Kong Space Museum. Accessed on line November 23, 2010.

Sources

1. SIMBAD Query Result
2. CCDM catalogue entry at VizieR