Provisional designation in astronomy

Provisional designation in astronomy is the naming convention applied to astronomical objects immediately following their discovery. The provisional designation is usually superseded by a permanent designation once a reliable orbit has been calculated. Approximately 47% of the more than 1,100,000 known minor planets remain provisionally designated, as hundreds of thousands have been discovered in the last two decades.

25,000

50,000

75,000

100,000

125,000

150,000

'90

'95

2000

'05

'10

'15

Yearly number of provisional minor planet designations assigned by the MPC since 1990. As of May 2019, a total of 1,426,477 designations have been assigned since 1869.

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