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From: lmc@cisden.UUCP (Lyle McElhaney)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Re: Naming Things after the Astronauts
Message-ID: <517@cisden.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Feb-86 13:12:04 EST
Article-I.D.: cisden.517
Posted: Fri Feb 21 13:12:04 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 24-Feb-86 06:56:04 EST
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> Roger. Whoever discovers things gets to name them. The Soviets are up to
> something like 12 probes that have penetrated the atmosphere and actually
> survived long enough to send back some decent photos. The US has never
> probed Venus - we went the other way, and got to name things on Mars.
> 
No, I don't think so. The "official" naming of all extra-terrestrial
bodies, features, and so on is in the hands of the International
Astronomical Union (IAU). It is certainly possible, however, to hang
informal or preliminary names on anything discovered; it may even be
adopted officially. The bright spot on Mars was long known as Nix Olympica
(the snows of Olympus), until it was resolved out as a volcano; the IAU
renamed it Mons Olympus (Olympus Mons?) as a result. I presume that the
Russians are naming things in order to be able to talk about them in some
normal manner until the IAU gets around to it; they, as the discoverers,
presumably carry some advisory weight when the names are finally chosen.

Does anyone know the authority of this official function of the IAU? Is it
a formal treaty, or agreement between various national astronomical
societies, or what? If so, is it possible that the USSR doesn't recognize
it? (I think that that is unlikely.)

Lyle McElhaney
...hao!cisden!lmc