Why Do Space Objects Have Weird Names?

Who is in charge of naming the enormous number of celestial objects present in the Universe? What’s with the weird “alpha-numeric” names given to these objects?

Founded in 1919, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is an international association of professional astronomers who assign designations and names to celestial bodies and any surface features on them. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects.

One needs to understand the difference between the terms “name” and “designation”. Name refers to the term we use in everyday life, whereas designation is solely alphanumerical, and used almost exclusively in official catalogs and for professional astronomy.

When a new star is discovered, it is a standard practice to designate them alphanumerically. These designations are practical since star catalogs contain billions of objects. A designation consists of two parts — a leading acronym and a sequence value. The acronym is the code specifying the catalog or collection of sources. The sequence value is a string of usually alpha-numerical characters that uniquely identify the source within the catalog.

Black holes don’t follow any particular conventions. Supermassive black holes are numbered based on the galaxy in whose core they reside. Examples are NGC 4261, NGC 4151, and M31, which derive their designation from the New General Catalogue and the list of Messier objects.

Other stellar black holes are cataloged by their constellation and the order in which they were discovered. But black holes are mostly designated by their position in the sky and prefixed with the instrument or survey that discovered them. For example, RX J1131−1231, observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

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Time Stamps-
00:00 Introduction
01:11 Greek & Roman Mythology
01:57 Scientific Confusion
02:52 Regulation Body — International Astronomical Union (IAU)
04:06 How are Moons named?
04:33 How are Comets named?
05:53 How are Stars named?
07:21 Guide Star Catalog II
08:12 How are Galaxies named?
08:42 How are Black Holes named?
09:21 How are Supernovae named?
09:49 How are exoplanets named?
10:49 Online Contest for naming

Video Editor: Team 121 Creators (https://bit.ly/team121x)
Script Writer: Shibangi Majumder (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shibangi-majumder-6ba31914b)
Narration: Sidhart Viyapu (https://bit.ly/sidvoice)
Project Head: Rajkumar Shukla (http://bit.ly/rkoninsta)
Production: World Of Science Media (https://theworldofscience.co)

Why Do Space Objects Have Weird Names?
Why do space objects have weird names and how are they named?
Why do space objects have weird alphanumeric names? How are space objects named?
Why Astronomers Use Weird Alphanumeric Names?
How are astronomical objects named?

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