Themes
“Among the other tasks of the IAU are the definition of fundamental astronomical and physical constants; unambiguous astronomical nomenclature…” (IAU Website “About”)
FAQ3: Our IAU-Catalog of Star Names (CSN) is a living document; it is continually updated after regular (roughly monthly) group meetings.
Export options are given above the IAU-CSN table.
Other IAU WGs publish “Bulletins”:Website of IAU WG Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN)
FAQ1: Sorry, we currently don’t accept name proposals; only naming campaigns do. Modern invented star names are given to (faint) host stars of exoplanets. For bright stars, we collect and apply historical names from all over the world according to scientific criteria (see our Guidlines).
FAQ2: In research papers, please kindly use only the names from the IAU-CSN. For aspects of education and heritage preservation, we are developing name-resolvers and an encyclopaedia to keep track of all cultural names per star.
Export options are given above the IAU-CSN table.
FAQ4: The IAU doesn’t name stars after people (GUIDELINES). There are only ~9000 visible stars but billions of people on Earth (alive or passed). Please remember that some constellation names were created to represent love and admiration. Outstanding people could be honoured by naming a minor planet or a feature on the Moon after them (IAU WGPSN and WGSBN, Commission B2).
Star Names
Some star names are historically developed, other take from indigenous cultures and some are totally artificial.
Constellations
even if you think you know them, you still can learn something new here.
Exoplanet Names
The IAU-Catalog of Exoplanet Names stems from the
NameExoWorlds Campaigns
IAU
at home on planet Earth
… seeking to share knowledge with all humans on this planet.
Some photographs: astronomy on planet Earth
Our world is a beautiful place – we need to take care of it!
Moon Through Telescope
Lunar eclipse, observed at Hildesheim (Europe)
Rainbow above Sahara
Observed in Mauretania (Africa)
Short before Transit of Mercury
northwest Sahara (Africa)
Inka Dark Constellations
by Jessica Gullberg
WGSN Work Environment
Names Released 2025
A few highlights of 2025: we released exactly 40 new star names and created info cards for them which were posted on our social media channels. The above lists show[…]
