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?
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There are way too many celestial bodies to give a “normal” name, though they can have those. It’s just much easier to describe what “part of the sky” the body is. Those codes are more of a coordinate than a name. Different orgs will use different naming conventions.
The most popular one, which is probably the one you saw, is the International Astronomical Union. It uses a combination of unique name/code, and coordinates.
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Nebulae, Galaxies, and Other Objects
The designation of astronomical objects beyond the Solar System should consist of at least two parts — a leading acronym and a sequence value.
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An acronym is a code specifying the catalogue or collection of sources, conforming to the following rules, among others:
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It should consist of at least three characters (letters and/or numerals, avoiding special characters).
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The acronym must be unique.
Acronyms should not be excessively long.
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Sequence: a string of usually alpha-numerical characters that uniquely identify the source within the catalogue. Common values for the sequence are:
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Running number.
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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.l
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