The system consists of a binary pair,[9] designated 41 Arietis A, together with a third companion star, 41 Arietis D. (41 Arietis B and C form optical pairs with A, but are not physically related.[10]) The components of A are themselves designated 41 Arietis Aa (formally named Bharani/ˈbærəni/)[11] and Ab.
41 Arietis is the system's Flamsteed designation. It does not possess a Greek-letter Bayer designation, since this system was once part of the now-obsolete constellation Musca Borealis, but is sometimes designated c Arietis. The designations of the two constituents as 41 Arietis A and D, and those of A's components - 41 Arietis 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).[12]
InHindu astronomy, Bharani (भरणी bharaṇī, Sanskrit pronunciation:[ˈbʱɐɽɐɳiː]) is the second nakshatra, or lunar mansion corresponding to 35, 39 and 41 Arietis. In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[15] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems.[16] It approved the name Bharani for the component 41 Arietis Aa on 30 June 2017 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.[11]
InChinese, 胃宿 (Wèi Su), meaning Stomach (asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of 41, 35 and 39 Arietis.[17] Consequently, the Chinese name for 41 Arietis itself is 胃宿三 (Wèi Su sān, English: the Third Star of Stomach.)[18]
InAvestan, the star was known as Upa-paoiri, and it was associated with one of the yazatas.[19]
^ abcdJohnson, H. L.; et al. (1966), "UBVRIJKL photometry of the bright stars", Communications of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, 4 (99): 99, Bibcode:1966CoLPL...4...99J.
^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].