It consists of two binary stars, designated Xi Cephei A and B, together with a more distant companion, Xi Cephei C. A's two components are themselves designated Xi Cephei Aa (officially named Kurhah/ˈkɜːrhə/, the traditional name of the system)[9] and Ab.
Nomenclature
ξ Cephei (Latinised to Xi Cephei) is the system's Bayer designation. The designations of the three constituents as ξ Cephei A, B and C, and those of A's components - ξ Cephei Aa and Ab - derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for multiple star systems, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).[10]
Xi Cephei bore the traditional names Kurhah, Alkirdah or Al Kirduh,[11] the name coming from Qazvini who gave Al Ḳurḥaḥ (القرحةal-qurhah), an Arabic word Ideler translated as a white spot, or blaze, in the face of a horse. Allen indicates that Ideler felt this was not a proper name for a star, and suggested the name Al Ḳirdah (ألقردة al qírada "the Ape").[12] In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[13] to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems.[14] It approved the name Kurhah for the component Xi Cephei Aa on 12 September 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.[9]
^Monet, David G.; Levine, Stephen E.; Canzian, Blaise; Ables, Harold D.; Bird, Alan R.; Dahn, Conard C.; Guetter, Harry H.; Harris, Hugh C.; Henden, Arne A.; Leggett, Sandy K.; Levison, Harold F.; Luginbuhl, Christian B.; Martini, Joan; Monet, Alice K. B.; Munn, Jeffrey A.; Pier, Jeffrey R.; Rhodes, Albert R.; Riepe, Betty; Sell, Stephen; Stone, Ronald C.; Vrba, Frederick J.; Walker, Richard L.; Westerhout, Gart; Brucato, Robert J.; Reid, I. Neill; Schoening, William; Hartley, M.; Read, M. A.; Tritton, S. B. (2003). "The USNO-B Catalog". The Astronomical Journal. 125 (2): 984–993. arXiv:astro-ph/0210694. Bibcode:2003AJ....125..984M. doi:10.1086/345888. S2CID55896673.
^Gray, R. O; Garrison, R. F (1989). "The early F-type stars - Refined classification, confrontation with Stromgren photometry, and the effects of rotation". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 69: 301. Bibcode:1989ApJS...69..301G. doi:10.1086/191315.
^Gray, R. O; Napier, M. G; Winkler, L. I (2001). "The Physical Basis of Luminosity Classification in the Late A-, F-, and Early G-Type Stars. I. Precise Spectral Types for 372 Stars". The Astronomical Journal. 121 (4): 2148. Bibcode:2001AJ....121.2148G. doi:10.1086/319956.
^Hessman, F. V.; Dhillon, V. S.; Winget, D. E.; Schreiber, M. R.; Horne, K.; Marsh, T. R.; Guenther, E.; Schwope, A.; Heber, U. (2010). "On the naming convention used for multiple star systems and extrasolar planets". arXiv:1012.0707 [astro-ph.SR].