Lower-case Greek letters are used to designate stars within a constellation. The brightest star usually (but not always) is given the letter alpha. For example, the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus is known as "Alpha Centauri". These designations are also known as Bayer designations, after German astronomer Johann Bayer.
The following table displays lower-case Greek letters along with their names and the English pronunciation of their names.
Letter | Name | Pronunciation |
α | Alpha | al'-fuh |
β | Beta | bey'-tuh |
γ | Gamma | gam'-muh |
δ | Delta | del'-tuh |
ε | Epsilon | ep'-suh-lon |
ζ | Zeta | zey'-tuh |
η | Eta | ey'-tuh |
θ | Theta | they'-tuh |
ι | Iota | ahy-oh'-tuh |
κ | Kappa | kap'-puh |
λ | Lambda | lam'-duh |
μ | Mu | myoo |
ν | Nu | noo |
ξ | Xi | zahy |
ο | Omicron | ohm'-i-kron |
π | Pi | pahy |
ρ | Rho | roh |
σ | Sigma | sig'-muh |
τ | Tau | tou |
υ | Upsilon | uhp'-suh-lon |
φ | Phi | fahy |
χ | Chi | kahy |
ψ | Psi | sahy |
ω | Omega | oh-mey'-guh |