The International Astronomical Union (IAU) established a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) in May 2016 to catalog and standardize proper names for stars for the international astronomical community. It operates under the auspices of Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage.
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Naming guidelines
The WGSN adopted preliminary guidelines for unique star names. In summary, these are:
The WGSN explicitly recognized the names of exoplanets and their host stars approved by the Executive Committee Working Group Public Naming of Planets and Planetary Satellites, including the names of stars adopted during the 2015 NameExoWorlds campaign.
The WGSN noted that in some cases, traditional names were historically attributed to multiple stars, however it has clarified which star or component. Some stars listed by HR number, Bayer or Flamsteed designation themselves may be multiple. Where a component letter (from e.g. Washington Double Star Catalog) is not explicitly listed, the WGSN says that the name should be understood to be attributed to the brightest component by visual brightness.
The WGSN decided to focus during the rest of 2016 on standardizing common names and spellings for the brightest few hundred stars with published names, and on compiling cultural names, with names for faint stars to be discussed in the future (it regarded 'bright stars' as those with designations in the Bright Star Catalogue and any physical companions; 'faint stars' as any other Galactic stars, substellar objects, and stellar remnants).
Adopted names
The first two batches of names were approved by the WGSN on 30 June 2016 and 20 July 2016. They were listed in a table included in its first bulletin dated July 2016. The list included the names of stars reviewed and adopted during the 2015 NameExoWorlds campaign, which included four traditional star names: Ain, Edasich, Errai and Fomalhaut. There are 125 stars on the list. Further batches of names were approved on 21 August 2016, 12 September 2016, 5 October 2016 and 6 November 2016. These were listed in a table included in the WGSN's second bulletin dated November 2016. There are 102 stars on this list. All are included on the current IAU Catalog of Star Names. This was last updated on 1 February 2017, when approved names for a further 13 stars were added.
The first list includes two stars given names of individuals during the NameExoWorlds process: Cervantes (honoring the writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra) and Copernicus (honoring the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus) for the stars Mu Arae and 55 Cancri A, respectively. The WGSN approved the historical name Cor Caroli (Latin for 'heart of Charles') for the star Alpha Canum Venaticorum, so named in honour of King Charles I of England by Sir Charles Scarborough, his physician. The 1 February 2017 update included the approval of the historical name for Barnard's Star, named after the American astronomer E. E. Barnard.