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- current terms of reference
- original declaration (2016)
Terms of Reference (Triennial Report 2024)
The following Terms of Reference for the IAU functional Working Group Star Names
was approved by Division C to guide its activities during the past triennium:
”The Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) consists of an international group of astronomers
with expertise in stellar astronomy, astronomical history, and cultural astronomy
who research and catalog proper names for stars for the use by the international astronomical
community and also to aid the recognition and preservation of intangible astronomical heritage.
WGSN maintains the IAU Catalog of Star Names. The focus during the 2021-2024 triennium
will be:
Ongoing Mission
- to continue an exhaustive search of star names from the cultural astronomy literature,
- to adopt new IAU proper names for stars of scientific and historical value for community
- use following WGSN guidelines,
- to provide relevant expertise to support other IAU efforts related to celestial nomenclature,
including public naming campaigns (e.g. NameExoWorlds).
Anticipated Outputs - to maintain the IAU Catalog of Star Names‡ and assist the IAU with maintaining its web
content on celestial nomenclature, - to add etymological information to the IAU Catalog of Star Names in the interests of further
preserving astronomical heritage, - to construct a new supporting list or name bank of names for stars and associated asterisms
which is culturally and geographically diverse, - to refine WGSN guidelines for the proposal and adoption of names for stars.
Following the past triennium, the naming purview for the WGSN will continue to be for stars,
substellar objects, and stellar remnants, but specifically exclude exoplanets (purview of the new
EC WG Exoplanetary System Nomenclature), interstellar medium features (nebulae), and extragalactic
objects. Cultural names of asterisms have been added to the research purview of the
WGSN in the interests of facilitating etymological investigations among Div C members (many
traditions name a great number of asterisms and relatively few bright stars). In some cases,
ancient asterism names may provide a potential source of new IAU names for individual stars.
WGSN will also deliberate on the process by which “new” names for stars and substellar objects
of scientific significance can be proposed by members of the international astronomical community.
The activities of the Division C WG Star Names are well-aligned with the IAU Strategic
Plan 2020-2030 and the activities of IAU Division C, and the Working Group is considered
Functional. The WGSN is specifically called out on p. 22 of IAU Strategic Plan 2020-2030:
”The IAU serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial
bodies and their surface features. To do so, the IAU has a number of Working Groups on various
topics, most notably on the nomenclature of small bodies in the Solar System and planetary
systems under Division F and on Star Names under Division C.“
Original declaration (2016)
The following is an abbreviated summary of the terms of reference for the Division C IAU Working Group on Star Names approved by the IAU Executive Committee at the EC98 meeting 6 May 2016 for period 2016-2018.
The Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) will consist of an international group of astronomers with expertise in stellar astronomy, astronomical history, and cultural astronomy. The group will catalog and standardize proper names for stars for the international astronomical community. Names will first be drawn upon the extensive historical and world-wide cultural astronomy literature. The WGSN will:
- establish IAU guidelines for the proposal and adoption of names for stars,
- carry out an exhaustive search of the international astronomical history and astronomical culture literature for candidate star names,
- drawing upon the historical and cultural literature, adopt new unique names for stars of scientific and historical value for community use following agreed upon guidelines,
- assemble, maintain, publish, and disseminate an official IAU star name catalog (“IAU-SNC”) of names for stars and exoplanets (including updating the information about the naming of stars on iau.org and posting the IAU-SNC on iau.org),
The first triennium will focus on incorporating “past” names (from astronomical history and culture) into modern usage, and it is anticipated that in future triennia the WGSN would act as the IAU WG responsible for defining the rules and enabling the process by which new names for stars and substellar objects of scientific significance can be proposed by members of the international astronomical community.
The naming purview for the WGSN will specifically be for stars, substellar objects, and stellar remnants, and specifically excludes exoplanets (purview of EC WG Public Naming of Planets and the Planetary Systems), interstellar medium features (nebulae), and extragalactic objects. Exoplanet names will be catalogued as well so as to avoid duplication with star names.