Designations

Documentation related to minor planet and comet designation systems.

Minor Planets

• Provisional designations for minor planets
• Temporary minor planet designations
• How asteroids are named
• List of current minor planet names

Comets

• Packed designations for comets discovered/recovered in the past year
• Periodic comet numbers

• Cometary designation system

Packed Formats

• Packed provisional and permanent designations
• Packed dates

Naming

Asteroid naming is handled by the IAU Working Group on Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN), not by the MPC.

• WGSBN website
• WGSBN naming rules and guidelines (PDF)
• WGSBN Bulletin
• IAU Planetary System Nomenclature (natural satellite naming)

Other

• Discovery circumstances of numbered minor planets

• Dual-Status objects