Twenty families contributed to the Name-A-Star program through the H.R. MacMillan Planetarium to name the star Alpheratz as Hayley's star. You can find a few maps on here that will help you find Alpheratz when you go out on a clear night. One is a map of where you will be able to find it in the winter, one in the summer and a more detailed map that will make your star-finding easier. Don't get frusterated and give up if you can't find the star, it just might not be visible that night, so just go out another night and look for it. Just print up these maps and take them out with you. There will also be some actual pics of the star that you can look at or print out, so you know what you will be looking for. You'll have an idea about what you are about to see beforehand. But first, some special 'Thank-You's' are in order. So a special thanks goes out to the following people who have made Hayley's star possible:
LIANNA MATHIESON & BRIAN JONES AND FAMILY
BILL HITCHMAN & MAUREEN CRONIN AND FAMILY
mIKE AND CINDY VANHOOF AND FAMILY
VIVIAN AND ART BUAN AND FAMILY
DIAN POHL & DARCY BUAN AND FAMILY
ANDY AND JUDY ELLIOTT AND FAMILY
MERVIN AND DOT CHURCHILL AND FAMILY
LORNA AND DUANE RICARD AND FAMILY
DALE AND EDNA LYNES AND FAMILY
JIM & BARB PENNER AND FAMILY
JAMES & SHERRY NOBLES AND FAMILY
SUE & JEREMY DIXON
MARGARET COX & TIM LENNOX AND FAMILY
GAIL & HENRY SEAMAN AND FAMILY
KEN & BETTE LANG AND FAMILY
RYAN & SHAWNEE SCOTT AND FAMILY
JIM & HEATHER GRAHAM AND FAMILY
DONNA & OZZIE LEAF AND FAMILY
BLANCHE & HAROLD ROSE
KELLI & JAMIE ROSE
Here is some info about Alpheratz, Hayley's star
Also Known As: Sirrah and Alpheratz
Means: Sirrah means "navel" (Because before being assigned to Andromeda, it was the star that represented Pegasus's naval)
Constellation: Andromeda
Description: Blue-white star
Both names are Arabic and refer to Pegasus since that star used to belong to that constellation. Alpheratz refers to the shoulder of the horse whereas Sirrah means "navel." Although it does form one corner of the Square Of Pegasus it has since been re-assigned to Andromeda.
Here is some background information on the constellation Andromeda (which Hayley's star is a part of):
Translation: Princess of Ethiopia
Genitive: Andromedae
Since many of the Autumn constellations have quite dim stars, Andromeda can be said to be of relative prominence. Situated below her mythological mother, Cassiopeia, and beside her hero Perseus, Andromeda can be found by first locating the four stars that go to make up the square of Pegasus, of which, Alpheratz marks the top left corner. On ancient maps, the maiden was shown chained to a rock, awaiting the arrival of the sea-monster Cetus.
Andromeda was the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, the King and Queen of Ethiopia. She was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to Cetus, the sea monster, as punishment for her mother's boast that she was more beautiful than all the Nereids (sea Nymphs). Andromeda was saved by Perseus when he turned Cetus into stone by using the dismembered head of Medusa. The constellations creation is credited to the Greeks, but it is likely that they borrowed it and the story from the Babylonians.
Faced with the very real possibility of having no-one left to actually rule over, the king and queen consulted the oracle, who advised that they chain Andromeda to a rock, as a sacrifice to the sea-monster. This they did, in the hope that it would appease Poseidon, but just as the monster was about to tuck into his feast, the hero Perseus arrived on his flying horse Pegasus, and turned the monster to stone by turning the gaze of the decapitated Gorgon upon it.
Now if you've seen the movie Clash Of The Titans, you might be forgiven for thinking that this is where the story ends and that they all lived happily ever after. Not so. You might also be forgiven for thinking that King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia would actually be quite pleased with Perseus for what he had done. Not so. Sure, the lovers did get married, but the in-laws weren't too pleased and summoned another suitor for their daughter. Perseus though still had the head of the Gorgon and after turning them all to stone fled back to Argos with his bride.
Alpheratz is in the Andromeda Galaxy, which is a galaxy resembling the Milky-Way, but is visible from Earth. It was first thought to be part of the Milky-Way until scientists realized it was a separate galaxy.
Here are the maps below. If you click on them they will take you to a printable version. They will look big on the screen, but when you print them out they will fit the whole size of your paper. (Actual images coming soon)
Hopefully all that information made you understand Hayley's star and hopefully you were able to find it in the night sky. If not, you can try e-mailing me for answers, but I doubt I know any more then is already on here.
