IAU Logo IAU Division III

Planetary Systems Sciences

Sciences des Systèmes Planétaires

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Working Groups of the Division

IAU Division III currently has four divisional working groups and two committees, which carry out specific duties which transcend the boundaries of any single commission within the division. We make no practical distinction between committees and working groups within the division since the distinction is primarily an historical one. By IAU rules, all Working Groups must be renewed every triennium if they are still relevant.

Working Groups for Specific, Narrow Tasks

Working Group on Near Earth Objects
Groupe de Travail sur les objets proches de la Terre
This group is chaired by David Morrison, of NASA's Ames Research Center, and is co-sponsored by IAU Division I (Fundamental Astronomy). This working group is charged with promoting international collaboration in and coordination and support of studies of NEOs. Among other things, this working group serves as liaison with the International Spaceguard Foundation. They report at each General Assembly on initiatives for NEO discovery and for research on NEOs. The chairman of the working group maintains a web-site with extensive information on the hazards of comet and asteroid impacts. This page is updated regularly but may lag a few days behind new discoveries. A brief description of the WG is available here.

The Working Group, in its role of advising the IAU on important issues, has established a Technical Review Committee to review predictions of possible impacts on Earth.

Official statements by the IAU regarding NEOs are linked from our Public Statements page.

Groupe de Travail sur les planètes extra-solaires
Working Group on Extra-Solar Planets
This group is charged with advising the IAU on how best to promote research in the field and optionally with maintaining an "official" list of identified planets. The working group's web page is here.

Joint IAU/IAG Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates
This working group is jointly sponsored with IAU Division I (Fundamental Astronomy) and is charged with setting standards for the coordinate systems to be used in mapping the surfaces of bodies in the solar system. The standards resulting from their work are published periodically in the journal Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy. The working group's web page is here.

Minor Planet Center Committee
This committee, newly created during IAU General Assembly XXV in Sydney, is charged with advising on the policies and practices of the Minor Planet Center. Details of the membership and other aspects of the committee will be decided by the division in the coming months.

Standing Committees for Nomenclature

Comité pour la nomenclature des petits corps célestes
Committee on Small Body Nomenclature
This group assigns names to comets and asteroids (and their satellites) and is currently chaired by Jana Tichá of the Klet Observatory (Czech Republic). This committee advises the Directors of the Minor Planet Center and Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams regarding the names of minor planets and comets. The committee maintains a Web Page that includes recently assigned names as well as other relevant information.

Working Group on Planetary System Nomenclature
Groupe de Travail sur la nomenclature du système planétaire
This group assigns names to satellites and to surface features on bodies of the solar system. It is currently chaired by Kaare Aksnes of the Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics in Oslo Norway. This committee maintains a web page with the planetary gazeteer and other relevant information.

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Created: 1997/09/09, mfa; Last Update: ([an error occurred while processing this directive]), mfa