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A nomenclature for individual exocomets

Alain Lecavelier des Etangs, Paul A. Strøm, Darryl Z. Seligman

TL;DR

The paper argues for a standardized nomenclature to uniquely identify individual exocomets as observations increasingly target single bodies. It prescribes a simple, scalable structure: a star-name prefix, a capital C to denote cometary nature, a date encoded as yyyymmdd, and an optional differentiating letter for multiple on the same day, intentionally omitting periodicity and detection-method details for practicality. The authors justify design choices by aligning with exoplanet nomenclature practices and ensuring unambiguous, reproducible references across studies, with examples spanning β Pictoris, HD 172555, and Kepler/KIC targets. They present a concrete pathway toward adoption by the IAU’s Working Group on Small Body Nomenclature and emphasize the need for community-wide standardization as exocomet science matures.

Abstract

With recent observational advancements, exocomet studies have entered a new era: we have moved from an epoch where exocomets' signatures were analysed to identify their true nature to a new epoch where individual exocomets' detections are studied in detail to characterise the observed bodies. In this context, as with other astronomical objects such as exoplanets and minor bodies in the solar system, a nomenclature system is needed to uniquely identify any observed exocometary body. Here, after outlining the purpose of a nomenclature and its required characteristics, we review the information on exocomets that can be included in the nomenclature. Finally, we propose an exocomet nomenclature scheme to identify the individual exocomets that have been discovered or yet to be discovered. Examples of nomenclature names of a few archetypal exocomets are provided.

A nomenclature for individual exocomets

TL;DR

The paper argues for a standardized nomenclature to uniquely identify individual exocomets as observations increasingly target single bodies. It prescribes a simple, scalable structure: a star-name prefix, a capital C to denote cometary nature, a date encoded as yyyymmdd, and an optional differentiating letter for multiple on the same day, intentionally omitting periodicity and detection-method details for practicality. The authors justify design choices by aligning with exoplanet nomenclature practices and ensuring unambiguous, reproducible references across studies, with examples spanning β Pictoris, HD 172555, and Kepler/KIC targets. They present a concrete pathway toward adoption by the IAU’s Working Group on Small Body Nomenclature and emphasize the need for community-wide standardization as exocomet science matures.

Abstract

With recent observational advancements, exocomet studies have entered a new era: we have moved from an epoch where exocomets' signatures were analysed to identify their true nature to a new epoch where individual exocomets' detections are studied in detail to characterise the observed bodies. In this context, as with other astronomical objects such as exoplanets and minor bodies in the solar system, a nomenclature system is needed to uniquely identify any observed exocometary body. Here, after outlining the purpose of a nomenclature and its required characteristics, we review the information on exocomets that can be included in the nomenclature. Finally, we propose an exocomet nomenclature scheme to identify the individual exocomets that have been discovered or yet to be discovered. Examples of nomenclature names of a few archetypal exocomets are provided.
Paper Structure (25 sections, 1 figure, 1 table)

This paper contains 25 sections, 1 figure, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The nomenclature principles
  3. The purpose of the nomenclature
  4. Information coded in the nomenclature
  5. Name of the star
  6. Cometary nature
  7. Periodic nature and period, and its exclusion from nomenclature
  8. Date of observation
  9. Method of detection and physical properties, and its exclusion from nomenclature
  10. An additional optional letter for exocomets of the same day
  11. Proposed naming convention
  12. The nomenclature scheme
  13. Name-of-the-star
  14. Exocomet designation with C
  15. Date of observation in yyyymmdd format
  16. ...and 10 more sections

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: Structure of the nomenclature with each of the elements highlighted with a description.