I was reading this article (https://www.vice.com/en/article/z34883/scie-discover-huge-extragalactic-structure-in-zone-of-avoidance) and it talks about how a new galaxy cluster is named “VVVGCl-B J181435-381432”
Does naming a galaxy cluster like this really help people in this field of study know what it is they’re talking about?
In: 24
If you take a look at the [IAU paper on Naming of Astronomical Objects](https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming/) you see that this attempt at standardization is relatively new.
>**In 1982**, the United Nations, at its “Fourth Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names” held in Geneva, recognized the role of the IAU by adopting its Resolution 13 on Extraterrestrial feature names (p.33)
this is still not fully agreed on.
>At its **inaugural meeting in 1922** in Rome, the IAU standardized the constellation names and abbreviations.
So people have been arguing about this for a long time, but at least the number / letter system gets rid of language issues (like a different name for every visible object in every language group)
In the section about [naming objects outside the solar system](https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming/#outss) it suggests a two part name
* Leading acronym (letters – all caps)
* Sequence value (numbers)
*******
> **An acronym is a code specifying the catalogue** or collection of sources, conforming to the following rules, among others:
> It should consist of at least three characters (letters and/or numerals, avoiding special characters).
> The acronym must be unique.
> Acronyms should not be excessively long.
*************
> **Sequence: a string of usually alpha-numerical characters** that uniquely identify the source within the catalogue. Common values for the sequence are:
> Running number.
> Based on the coordinates of the object. Equatorial Coordinates shall always be preceded by J if they are for the standard equinox of J2000.0.
**NOW ON TO THIS SPECIFIC GALAXY**
The original paper [preprint on ARXIV – Unveiling a new structure behind the Milky Way](https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.16332) says the following.
>Our aim is to decipher the nature of the overdensity located behind the Milky Way, **in the tile b204 of the VVV survey.** Methods. We studied an area of six arcmin around a galaxy concentration located at l = 354.82° and b = -9.81°.
So the acronym of **VVVGCl-B** references the VVV survey, and tile B204.
They chop up the night sky into a grid of little boxes, and this is where they pointed the telescope for this object.
The “sequence value” of **J181435-381432** has the **letter J** which indicates that the numbers following are “standard equatorial coordinates.
I can’t give you more info on the coordinate system
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