The Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch (abbrev. B.A.J.) is an astronomical ephemeris almanac and one of the longest publication series in astronomy. It was a compendium of ephemerides of all large Solar System bodies and of fundamental stars which define the celestial reference system.
The B.A.J. series was founded by Johann Elert Bode, [1] and is thus sometimes referred to as Bode's Astronomisches Jahrbuch. It began publication in 1776 and continued until 1960 when it was merged into the international edition of the Astronomical Ephemeris and Apparent Places of Fundamental Stars (APFS). This merger was decided in 1959 by the IAU.
Starting in 1907 it contained accurate apparent places of the first international fundamental catalogue which was compiled for astrometry; later these data were actualized within the framework of the Catalogues of Fundamental Stars FK3 and FK4.
In the 1940s the Almanac was edited in co-operation with the Astronomisch-Geodätisches Jahrbuch of the Recheninstitut in Heidelberg, Germany, which was also merged into the IAU editions like other national almanacs.
Johann Elert Bode was a German astronomer known for his reformulation and popularisation of the Titius–Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name.
Wilhelm Gliese was a German astronomer who specialized in the study and cataloging of nearby stars.
Upsilon Scorpii, formally named Lesath, is a star located in the "stinger" of the southern zodiac constellation of Scorpius, the scorpion. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 580 light-years from the Sun. In the night sky it lies near the 1.6 magnitude star Lambda Scorpii, and the two form an optical pair that is sometimes called the "Cat's Eyes".
Zeta Leonis, also named Adhafera, is a third-magnitude star in the constellation of Leo, the lion. It forms the second star in the blade of the sickle, which is an asterism formed from the head of Leo.
The Berlin Observatory is a German astronomical institution with a series of observatories and related organizations in and around the city of Berlin in Germany, starting from the 18th century. It has its origins in 1700 when Gottfried Leibniz initiated the "Brandenburg Society of Science″ which would later (1744) become the Prussian Academy of Sciences. The Society had no observatory but nevertheless an astronomer, Gottfried Kirch, who observed from a private observatory in Berlin. A first small observatory was furnished in 1711, financing itself by calendrical computations.
Kappa Telescopii is a solitary, yellow-hued star in the southern constellation of Telescopium. With an apparent visual magnitude of +5.20, it is visible to the naked eye. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 12.00 mas as seen from Earth, it is located around 272 light years from the Sun.
Zeta Arietis, Latinized from ζ Arietis, is the Bayer designation for a star in the northern constellation of Aries. It is dimly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +4.89. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 12.77 mas, the distance to this star is 255 ± 7 light-years. This is an A-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of A1 V. It has a high rate of rotation with a projected rotational velocity of 133 km/s. The star is shining at an effective temperature of 9,500 K, giving it the characteristic white-hued glow of an A-type star.
Sigma Arietis, Latinized from σ Arietis, is the Bayer designation for a star in the northern constellation of Aries. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +5.52, which is bright enough for the star to be seen with the naked eye from dark suburban skies. The star is located at a distance of approximately 470 light-years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +17 km/s. On November 20, 1952, it was observed being occulted by the planet Jupiter.
Theta Arietis, Latinized from θ Arietis, is the Bayer designation for a binary star system in the northern constellation of Aries. It is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.58. With an annual parallax shift of 7.61 mas, the distance to this star is an estimated 429 light-years with a 10 light-year margin of error. It is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +6 km/s.
Eta Aurigae, officially named Haedus, is a star in the northern constellation of Auriga. With an apparent visual magnitude of 3.18, it is visible to the naked eye. Based upon parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, this star is approximately 243 light-years distant from the Sun.
38 Aquarii is a star in the equatorial constellation of Aquarius. 38 Aquarii is its Flamsteed designation; its Bayer designation is e Aquarii. It is a faint star but visible to the naked eye, with an apparent visual magnitude of +5.43. Based on parallax measurements, it is around 450 light-years away; it is 0.28 degree south of the ecliptic.
49 Arietis is a single star in the northern constellation of Aries. 49 Arietis is the Flamsteed designation. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint, white hued star with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.90. The star is located at a distance of about 218 light-years distant from Earth based on parallax.
The Catalogue of Fundamental Stars is a series of six astrometric catalogues of high precision positional data for a small selection of stars to define a celestial reference frame, which is a standard coordinate system for measuring positions of stars.
The Astronomical Calculation Institute is a research institute in Heidelberg, Germany, dating from the 1700s. Beginning in 2005, the ARI became part of the Center for Astronomy at Heidelberg University. Previously, the institute directly belonged to the state of Baden-Württemberg.
The Faculty of Physics and Astronomy is one of twelve faculties at the University of Heidelberg. It comprises the Kirchhoff Institute of Physics, the Institute of Physics, Theoretical Physics, Environmental Physics and Theoretical Astrophysics.
Omega1 Aquilae, which is Latinized from ω1 Aquilae, is the Bayer designation for a single star in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. With an apparent visual magnitude of 5.2 it is a faint, yellow-white hued star that can be seen with the naked eye in dark skies. From the annual parallax shift of 8.53 mas, the distance to this star can be estimated as 382 light-years, give or take a 6 light year margin of error. It is drifting closer to the Sun with a radial velocity of −14 km/s.
Hartmut Jahreiß is a German astronomer associated with Astronomisches Rechen-Institut specializing in the study of nearby stars.
Rho2 Arae is the Bayer designation for a star in the southern constellation of Ara. It received this designation when the star was catalogued by Bode in his Uranographia. This is a rather dim naked-eye star with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.54. Based upon an annual parallax shift of just 6.28 mas, it is around 520 light-years distant from the Sun, give or take a 30-light-year margin of error.
Omega Orionis is a star in the constellation Orion. Its apparent magnitude is 4.57 and is located approximately 1,400 light-years from our solar system. It is surrounded by a cloud of dust, forming a modest reflection nebula over a light-year wide.
ξ Eridani is a solitary star in the constellation Eridanus. With an apparent visual magnitude of 5.17, it is faintly visible to the naked eye on a clear, dark night. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 0.00156 arcseconds, it is located around 209 light years from the Sun. The star is considered a member of the Sirius supercluster.