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. Consequently, α Delphini itself is known as 瓠瓜一 (Hù Guā yī, English: the First Star of Good Gourd.).

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	20h 39m 38.287s/38.287s
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	20h 39m 36.5s/34.9s/39.5s/35.1s/42.9s
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)

See also

• Sualocin and Rotanev

References

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