[meteorite-list] Names and synonyms (was ...Mali or Argelia...)

From: Jeff Grossman <jgrossman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:25:27 -0400
Message-ID: <OFD8C0EAA9.C82BC3EA-ON8525737C.0080C9C6_at_usgs.gov>

Here is what I can tell everybody about official names and synonyms.

Every meteorite is given one, and only one, official name. This is
the name that must be used in publications. There are no rules for
how the name is chosen, only guidelines. Mainly the guidelines call
for naming the meteorite after a nearby geographic feature that can
be found on maps. If there are competing candidates for the name,
weight may be given to many factors in choosing which to bestow,
including existing usage among scientists and collectors, finder's
privileges, distribution of specimens, and a little politics now and then.

There are no rules at all concerning synonyms, although nowadays
these are often vetted by the NomCom too. In general, these are any
other names by which specimens of a meteorite may have been known
throughout history. Synonyms are NOT official names. Sometimes you
see "officially recognized" synonyms, meaning the NomCom has
published it, but it's still not an official name. The NomCom
usually tries to recognize synonyms when they have appeared in
scientific publications, press reports, well-known catalogs, or when
the meteorite is widely sold or traded under another name.

One grayish area in all of this is "named masses," like the
Ahnighito, Agpalilik, Woman, Dog, and other masses of Cape
York. Some of these names are so engrained that even scientists who
have long studied them don't realize they aren't the official names,
like Filomena. But these are also unofficial names: the official
name for Filomena is North Chile. Nevertheless, the NomCom
encourages the preservation of names of such masses on specimen
labels and in catalogs, as they convey potentially important
information about the provenance of a particular subsample. A good
way of doing it would be to say "North Chile (Filomena
mass)". Conversely, there is little value in preserving archaic
names that do not carry specimen information, e.g., you would never
refer to a Kirin mass of Jilin.

jeff



Dr. Jeffrey N. Grossman phone: (703) 648-6184
US Geological Survey fax: (703) 648-6383
954 National Center
Reston, VA 20192, USA
Received on Mon 22 Oct 2007 07:25:27 PM PDT