INHABITED SKY

To Survive in the Universe

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Group Description:	Flamsteed designations for stars are similar to Bayer designations, except that they use numbers instead of Greek letters. Each star is assigned a number and the Latin genitive of the constellation it lies in (see List of constellations for a list of constellations and the genitive forms of their names). The numbers were originally assigned in order of increasing right ascension within each constellation, but due to the effects of precession they are now slightly out of order in some places. This method of designating stars first appeared in a preliminary version of John Flamsteed's Historia coelestis Britannica which was published by Edmond Halley and Isaac Newton in 1712 without Flamsteed's approval. The final version of Flamsteed's catalogue published in 1725 after his death omitted any number designations altogether.