IAU Working Group on Star Names

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) established a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) in May 2016 to catalog and standardize proper names for stars for the international astronomical community. It operates under the auspices of Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage.

The terms of reference for the WGSN for the period 2016–2018 were approved by the IAU Executive Committee at its meeting on 6 May 2016. In summary, these are to:

While initially the WGSN would focus on incorporating 'past' names from history and culture, in future it would be responsible for defining the rules and enabling the process by which new names can be proposed by members of the international astronomical community.

The WGSN adopted preliminary guidelines for unique star names. In summary, these are:

The WGSN explicitly recognized the names of exoplanets and their host stars approved by the Executive Committee Working Group Public Naming of Planets and Planetary Satellites, including the names of stars adopted during the 2015 NameExoWorlds campaign.

The WGSN noted that in some cases, traditional names were historically attributed to multiple stars, however it has clarified which star or component. Some stars listed by HR number, Bayer or Flamsteed designation themselves may be multiple. Where a component letter (from e.g. Washington Double Star Catalog) is not explicitly listed, the WGSN says that the name should be understood to be attributed to the brightest component by visual brightness.

The WGSN decided to focus during the rest of 2016 on standardizing common names and spellings for the brightest few hundred stars with published names, and on compiling cultural names, with names for faint stars to be discussed in the future (it regarded 'bright stars' as those with designations in the Bright Star Catalogue and any physical companions; 'faint stars' as any other Galactic stars, substellar objects, and stellar remnants).

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