| Prefix | Example | Survey/Catalog | |
| β | β 5341 A | Burnham Double Star Catalogue | |
| βpm | βpm 6 | rare designator prefixes | author, proper motion, or "BUP" |
| Δ | Δ 38 | Dunlop Double Star Catalogue | |
| Σ | Σ2740 | Struve Catalogs | elder Struve |
| 0ES | 0ES 1225+44.7 | HEAO-2 | Einstein Slew Survey version 0 |
| 0FGL | 0FGL J0614.3-3330 | Fermi | LAT Bright Source |
| 1 Jy | 1 Jy 0902+343 | 1 Jansky Empty Field Survey | |
| 10C | 10C J104320+585621 | Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources | 10th catalog |
| 1A | 1A620-00 | Ariel 5 | first list |
| 1AGL | 1AGL J0634+1748 | AGILE | first catalog |
| 1C | 1C 19.01 | Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources | 1st catalog |
| 1E | 1E1740.7-2942 | HEAO-2 | Soft X-ray Source List |
| 1ES | 1ES 0414+009 | HEAO-2 | Einstein Slew Survey |
| 1FGL | 1FGL J1231.1-1410 | Fermi | LAT First-year Source |
| 1H | 1H 0323+342 | HEAO-1 | HEAO A-1 X-ray Source Catalog |
| 1RXH | 1RXH J173523.7-354013 | ROSAT | First cat with hires imager |
| 1RXS | 1RXS J160929.1-210524 | ROSAT | First ROSAT X-ray Survey |
| 1SWASP | 1SWASP J140747 | SuperWASP | |
| 2A | 2A1705+786 | Ariel 5 | second list |
| 2C | 2C 1686 | Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources | 2nd catalog |
| 2dFGRS | 2dFGRS TGS382Z148 | 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey | |
| 2E | 2E 0050.1-7247 | HEAO-2 | 2nd Soft X-ray Source List |
| 2FGL | 2FGL J0143.6-5844 | Fermi | LAT Second-year Source |
| 2HWC | 2HWC J0534+220 | High-altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory | |
| 2M | 2M1207 | Two Micron All-sky Survey | abbreviated |
| 2MA | 2MA 1835-3259 | Two Micron All-sky Survey | abbreviated |
| 2MASP | 2MASP J0345432+254023 | Two Micron All-sky Survey | prototype survey: or "2MASSP" |
| 2MASS | 2MASS J16264502-2423077 | Two Micron All-sky Survey | |
| 2MASSI | 2MASSI J0937347+293142 | Two Micron All-sky Survey | incremental release |
| 2MASSW | 2MASSW J0746425+200032 | Two Micron All-sky Survey | working database |
| 2MASX | 2MASX J00482185-2507365 | Two Micron All-sky Survey | "Extended source catalogue" |
| 2MUCD | 2MUCD 10390 | Two Micron All-sky Survey | ultracool dwarf |
| 2U | 2U 1957+40 | Uhuru | Uhuru Second Catalog |
| 3A | 3A620-00 | Ariel 5 | third list |
| 3C | 3C 273 | Third Cambridge Catalogue of Radio Sources | |
| 3CR | 3CR 68.1 | Third Cambridge Catalogue of Radio Sources | updated version |
| 3FHL | 3FHL J1823.3-1339 | Fermi | LAT hard source, third catalog |
| 4C | 4C 02.32 | Fourth Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources | |
| 4U | 4U 0241+61 | Uhuru | Uhuru Fourth Catalog |
| 5C | 5C 4.81 | Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources | 5th catalog |
| 6C | 6C 0905+3955 | Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources | 6th catalog |
| 7C | 7C 105517.75+495540.95 | Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources | 7th catalog |
| 87GB | 87GB 090153.2+694215 | 87GB Catalog of Radio Sources | |
| 8C | 8C 1435+63 | Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources | 8th catalog |
| 9C | 9C J1503+4528 | Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources | 9th catalog |
| A | A 0136-0801 | APM Galaxy Survey | short form |
| A | A620-00 | Ariel 5 | original/abbreviated designator |
| A | A 1246-09 | Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies | if has no NGC or IC number |
| A1689 | A1689-zD1 | rare designator prefixes | lensed galaxy in Abell Catalog galaxy cluster 1689 field |
| AB | AB 12 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| Abel | Abel 1 | Palomar Globular Clusters | or "Cl Palomar 1" |
| Abell | Abell 3627 | Abell Catalog | |
| Abetti | Abetti 11 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| AC | AC +79 3888 | Astrographic Catalog | |
| AC | AC 2 | rare designator prefixes | or "A.C.", discoverer's initials |
| Ack | Ack 277.7-03.5 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| ACO | ACO 3627 | Abell Catalog | |
| ACT | ACT-CL J0102-4915 | Atacama Cosmology Telescope | CL for "galaxy cluster" |
| ADS | ADS 5951 | Aitken Double Star Catalogue | |
| AFGL | AFGL 4029 | AFGL Four Color Infrared Sky Survey | |
| Ag | Ag 5 | rare designator prefixes | author initial, galaxy |
| AG | AG-136 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| AGC | AGC 198691 | Arecibo General Catalog | |
| AGC | AGC 1 | rare designator prefixes | or "A.G.C.", discoverer "Clark" initials |
| AGK | AGK +81 266 | Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog | or "AG" |
| AGKR | AGKR 1017 | Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog | subset of reference stars |
| AH03 | AH03 J1725-34.4 | rare designator prefixes | author's initials & year |
| AKARI | AKARI-FIS-V1 J0001275+644107 | AKARI | |
| Al | Al 2-F | rare designator prefixes | author, PNe |
| ALD | ALD 19 | rare designator prefixes | author abbrev. |
| Alessi | Alessi J18350+7223 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| Alicante | Alicante 12 | rare designator prefixes | university |
| Aller | Aller 1 | rare designator prefixes | name |
| ALS | ALS 3721 | rare designator prefixes | college initial |
| AM | AM 1934-563 | Arp-Madore Catalog of Southern Peculiar Galaxies | |
| And | And I | Andromeda | M31 satellites |
| Andrews-Lindsay | Andrews-Lindsay 1 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| Andromeda | Andromeda I | Andromeda | M31 satellites |
| Anon | Anon 0043-37 | rare designator prefixes | for "anonymous" |
| Anon | Anon 1246-09 | Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies | if has no NGC or IC number |
| Antalova | Antalova 1 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| AO | AO 0235+164 | Arecibo Occultation Survey | |
| APASS | APASS J327.7257-16.5170 | APASS | |
| APG | APG 148 | Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies | |
| APM | APM 08279+5255 | APM Galaxy Survey | |
| APMUKS | APMUKS(BJ) B215839.70-615403.9 | APM Galaxy Survey | |
| Arches | Arches-F6 | rare designator prefixes | object within Arches star cluster |
| ARG | ARG 1 | rare designator prefixes | double star, discoverer |
| Ark | Ark 120 | Arakelian Catalog | or "Arak" or "Arakelian" |
| Arp | Arp 220 | Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies | |
| ASAS | ASAS 160048-4846.2 | All Sky Automated Survey | |
| ASASSN | ASASSN-15lh | All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae | |
| ASCC | ASCC 113 | All-Sky Compiled Catalogue | open cluster |
| ASCC | ASCC 744576 | All-Sky Compiled Catalogue | star |
| AT | AT 2017gfo | transient | general transient prefix |
| ATLAS | ATLAS J025.6821-33.4627 | VLT Survey Telescope | ATLAS survey |
| AXP | AXP 1E 1048-59 | anomalous X-ray pulsar | |
| AzTEC | AzTEC-3 | rare designator prefixes | instrument |
| AzV | AzV 232 | Catalog of Azzopardi & Vigneau | |
| B | B270 | Barnard Catalog | |
| B | B B 2227-612 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| B | B 1871 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| B2 | B2 0902+34 | Bologna Survey of Radio Sources | 2nd catalog |
| B3 | B3 0219+443 | Bologna Survey of Radio Sources | 3rd catalog |
| BAL | BAL 746 | rare designator prefixes | double star discoverer(Baillaud) or Bail 746 |
| BAR | BAR 61 | rare designator prefixes | double star discoverer(Barnard) or Ba 61 |
| Barnard | Barnard 270 | Barnard Catalog | |
| Bas | Bas 4 | Basel Open Cluster Catalogue | |
| Basel | Basel 4 | Basel Open Cluster Catalogue | |
| BAT99 | BAT99-98 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials & year |
| BAZ | BAZ 4 | rare designator prefixes | double star discoverer(Baize) or Baize 4 |
| BD | BD+36 2147 | Bonner Durchmusterung Catalog | |
| BD | BD3 | dropout | general for "blue dropout" |
| BDF | BDF-3299 | BDF | |
| BDS | BDS 5341 A | Burnham Double Star Catalogue | |
| BDS03 | BDS03 9 | rare designator prefixes | or "BDSB" or BDSB2003, authors, year |
| Be | Be 79 | Berkeley Open Cluster Catalogue | |
| Bennett | Bennett 4 | rare designator prefixes | author, or "Ben" |
| Berkeley | Berkeley 79 | Berkeley Open Cluster Catalogue | |
| Bernes | Bernes 157 | rare designator prefixes | author, or "Be" |
| BFS | BFS 15 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| BI | BI 253 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| Bica | Bica 6 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| Biurakan | Biurakan 11 | rare designator prefixes | stellar clusters, observatory |
| BLG | BLG-390Lb | OGLE | shortened, BLG meaning "bulge" |
| Bochum | Bochum 10 | rare designator prefixes | observatory, also "Bo" |
| Bok | Bok I 421F | rare designator prefixes | author |
| Bond | Bond 624 | rare designator prefixes | observer |
| BPI | BPI 14 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| BPM | BPM 78873 A | Bruce Proper Motion Survey | |
| BPM | BPM 976 | rare designator prefixes | "Bordeaux Proper Motion" |
| BPMA | BPMA 1 | rare designator prefixes | "Bordeaux Proper Motion Annex" |
| BPS | BPS CS 22898-0066 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| BR | BR1202-0725 LAE | rare designator prefixes | in UK Schmidt Survey B and R plates |
| Bradley | Bradley 3077 | rare designator prefixes | astronomer |
| Brey | Brey 82 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| BRI | BRI 1202-0725 | rare designator prefixes | in UK Schmidt Survey B, R, and I plates |
| BrsO | BrsO 14 | rare designator prefixes | Brisbane Observatory double star |
| BRT | BRT 1204 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| BS | BS 7958 | Bright Star Catalog | for "bright star" |
| BSC | BSC 7958 | Bright Star Catalog | for "bright star catalogue" |
| BSO | BSO 14 | rare designator prefixes | Brisbane Observatory double star |
| BSO | BSO 1 | rare designator prefixes | "blue stellar object" - early quasar detection |
| Btz | Btz 1Aa | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| BU | BU 962 | Burnham Double Star Catalogue | |
| BUP | BUP 6 | rare designator prefixes | author, proper motion, or "βpm" |
| Burnham | Burnham 962 | Burnham Double Star Catalogue | |
| BV | BV 5-2 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| BVD | BVD 43 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| BWE | BWE 1957+4035 | Becker, White, and Edwards Catalog | |
| BZ | BZB J0152+0147 | Roma-BZCAT | |
| C | C77 | Caldwell Catalog | |
| C* | C* 3207 | rare designator prefixes | carbon-star catalog |
| Caldwell | Caldwell 77 | Caldwell Catalog | |
| Camargo | Camargo 439 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| Camelopardalis | Camelopardalis B | rare designator prefixes | constellation name |
| Carina | Carina Dwarf | rare designator prefixes | constellation name |
| CARMA | CARMA-7 | Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy | |
| Cas | Cas 1 | rare designator prefixes | constellation abbreviation |
| CB | CB 34 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| CBB | CBB 3 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| CCCP | CCCP-Cl 14 | rare designator prefixes | survey |
| CCCS | CCCS 1174 | rare designator prefixes | cool carbon stars |
| CCDM | CCDM J12337+4121AB | Catalog of Components of Double and Multiple Stars | |
| CCS | CCS 1394 | rare designator prefixes | cool carbon stars |
| CD | CD-36°15693 | Bonner Durchmusterung Catalog | Cordoba Durchmusterung |
| CDFS | CDFS J033208.6-274649 | Chandra Deep Field South | |
| CDM | CDM-45°1841 | Bonner Durchmusterung Catalog | Cordoba Durchmusterung |
| Ced | Ced 112 | Cederblad Catalog | |
| Cederblad | Cederblad 112 | Cederblad Catalog | |
| CEL | CEL 1 | rare designator prefixes | instrument |
| CfA | CfA 13 | CfA Redshift Survey | galaxy group |
| CFBD | CFBD J0059-01 | CFBDS | abbreviated |
| CFBDS | CFBDS J005910.90-011401.3 | CFBDS | |
| CFBDSIR | CFBDSIR1458+1013 | CFBDS | infrared observation |
| CFHQS | CFHQS J2329-0301 | Canada-France High-z Quasar Survey | |
| CFHTLS | CFHTLS J141446.82+544631.9 | CFHTLS | |
| CFRS | CFRS 03.1077 | Canada-France Redshift Survey | |
| CFS | CFS 18398 | Astrographic Catalog | (or CF) Cape of Good Hope zone |
| CG | CG 26 | Bok globule | cometary globule |
| CGCG | CGCG 448-020 | Catalog of Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies | |
| CGCS | CGCS x | rare designator prefixes | cool galactic carbon stars |
| CGO | CGO 439 | rare designator prefixes | galactic O stars |
| CGSS | CGSS 184 | rare designator prefixes | S-type star, same as CSS |
| CHE | CHE 45 | rare designator prefixes | double star discoverer |
| Chereul | Chereul 1 | rare designator prefixes | moving groups, author |
| Christie | Christie's Leo Cluster | rare designator prefixes | for discoverer "William H. Christie" of Mount Wilson Observatory |
| Chupina | Chupina 1 | rare designator prefixes | stellar clusters, author |
| Ci | Ci 20 483 | rare designator prefixes | Cincinnati Obs. |
| CID | CID-42 | Cosmic Evolution Survey | C-COSMOS |
| CL | CL J1001+0220 | galaxy cluster | general prefix for clusters |
| Cl | Cl Terzan 5 | globular cluster | general prefix for star cluster |
| CLASS | CLASS B0901+697 | Cosmic Lens All-sky Survey | |
| CLUST | CLUST 1 | rare designator prefixes | stellar clusters |
| CMC | CMC 804951 | Carlsberg Meridian Catalogue | |
| Cn | Cn 1-1 | rare designator prefixes | PN, discoverer |
| CO | CO-0.40-0.22 | rare designator prefixes | molecular cloud |
| CoD | CoD-36°7429 | Bonner Durchmusterung Catalog | Cordoba Durchmusterung |
| Col | Col 2 | Collinder Catalog | |
| Collinder | Collinder 2 | Collinder Catalog | |
| COO | COO 70 | rare designator prefixes | double stars, observatory |
| COROT | COROT-1b | COROT | |
| COSMOS | COSMOS Redshift 7 | Cosmic Evolution Survey | |
| COU | COU 79 | rare designator prefixes | double stars, discoverer |
| CP | CP-54°1925 | Bonner Durchmusterung Catalog | Cape Photographic Durchmusterung |
| CP | CP 1919 | rare designator prefixes | "Cambridge pulsar" |
| CPD | CPD-57°2874 | Bonner Durchmusterung Catalog | Cape Photographic Durchmusterung |
| CPO | CPO 7 | rare designator prefixes | or "CapO", observatory |
| Cr | Cr 2 | Collinder Catalog | |
| CRL | CRL | rare designator prefixes | institution |
| CSI | CSI-12-17112 | Catalog of Stellar Identifications | |
| CSS | CSS100217 | Catalina Sky Survey | |
| CSS | CSS 184 | rare designator prefixes | S-type stars |
| CSV | CSV 6182 | New Catalogue of Suspected Variable Stars | 1951 predecessor |
| CTA | CTA-102 | rare designator prefixes | Caltech Radio Source list A |
| CTB | CTB 22 | rare designator prefixes | Caltech Radio source list B |
| CTIO | CTIO-6 | Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory | |
| CXC | CXCGC J174512.0-285754 | Chandra X-ray Observatory | |
| CXO | CXO CDFS J033225.3-274219 | Chandra X-ray Observatory | |
| CXOU | CXOU J132527.6-430023 | Chandra X-ray Observatory | "unregistered" |
| Cz | Cz 29 | Czernik Catalog | |
| Czernik | Czernik 29 | Czernik Catalog | |
| D | D3-13 | CFHTLS | D3 for "Deep Field 3" |
| D | D 413 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| D² | D²-1 | DEEP2 | |
| DA | DA 500 | Dominion Observatory 1420 MHz Source Catalog | |
| Danks | Danks 2 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| DASCH | DASCH_J123349.2-113822 | DASCH | |
| DAW | DAW 35 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer, double stars |
| Dawes | Dawes 6 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer, double stars |
| DB | DB 117 | Dominion Observatory 10.03 MHz Source Catalog | |
| DB | DB2001 36 | rare designator prefixes | authors, open clusters |
| DC | DC 287.1+02.4 | dark nebula | general prefix |
| DCld | DCld DCld 300.2-16.9 | dark nebula | general prefix |
| DDO | DDO 98 | David Dunlap Observatory Catalog | |
| DEEP-GSS | DEEP-GSS 312-1668 | DEEP2 | DEEP Goth Strip Survey |
| DeHt | DeHt 5 | rare designator prefixes | or "DHW", authors, planetary nebulae |
| DEN | 0255-4700 | DENIS | abbreviated |
| DENIS | DENIS J1013-7842 | DENIS | |
| DENIS-P | DENIS-P J1058.7-1548 | DENIS | provisory designation |
| DES | DES J0211-0646 | Dark Energy Survey | |
| Dias | Dias 6 | rare designator prefixes | author, open clusters |
| Djorg | Djorg 3 | rare designator prefixes | author, globular clusters |
| Dju | Dju 9 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer, double stars |
| DLS | DLSCL J0916.2+2951 | Deep Lens Survey | clusters |
| DM | DM-45 1841 | Bonner Durchmusterung Catalog | Cordoba Durchmusterung |
| DM99 | DM99 10 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| DoDz | DoDz 7 | Dolidze-Dzimselejsvili Catalogue | |
| Dreyer | Dreyer Nebula 584 | New General Catalogue | |
| DUN | DUN 38 | Dunlop Double Star Catalogue | or Dun |
| Dunlop | Dunlop 38 | Dunlop Double Star Catalogue | |
| DWB | DWB 111 | Dickel-Wendker-Bieritz Catalog | |
| Dwingeloo | Dwingeloo 1 | Dwingeloo Obscured Galaxy Survey | |
| E | E253-G3 | ESO/Uppsala Survey of the ESO (B) Atlas | abbreviated |
| EBLM | EBLM J0555-57Ab | rare designator prefixes | project acronym |
| EGG | EGG 30 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| EGGR | EGGR 131 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| EGM | EGM 100 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| EGS | EGS-zs8-1 | Extended Groth Strip | |
| ELHC | ELHC 10 | EROS | "EROS LMC HAeBe Candidate" |
| Elias | Elias 2-27 | rare designator prefixes | three papers by Elias |
| EPIC | EPIC 201367065 | K2 | input catalog |
| EROS | EROS 1044 | EROS | |
| ESO | ESO 97-G13 | ESO/Uppsala Survey of the ESO (B) Atlas | |
| EUVE | EUVE J2359-30.6 | Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer | |
| EVCC | EVCC 2248 | Virgo Cluster Catalog | extended VCC |
| EXO | EXO 0706.1+5913 | EXOSAT | slew survey |
| Fairall | Fairall 9 | Fairall Galaxy List | |
| FAUST | FAUST 3725 | FAUST | |
| FCC | FCC 35 | rare designator prefixes | Fornax cluster catalog |
| Fermi | Fermi J0109+6134 | Fermi | |
| FIGS | FIGS GN1 1292 | Faint Infrared Grism Survey | |
| FIRST | FIRST J102347.6+003841 | FIRST | |
| FK5 | FK5 568 | Catalogues of Fundamental Stars | |
| FM | FM1 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer's/author's initials |
| FRB | FRB 121102 | fast radio burst | |
| Frl | Frl 9 | Fairall Galaxy List | or other abbreviation |
| FS | FS 34 | rare designator prefixes | "faint standard" |
| FSR | FSR 1758 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| Furuhjelm | Furuhjelm I 285 | rare designator prefixes | aka FI-285, author |
| G | G239-25 | Lowell Proper Motion Survey | |
| G | G0.238-0.071 | rare designator prefixes | maybe for "galactic coordinates" |
| Gaia | Gaia 1 | Gaia | star cluster |
| GALEX ASC | GALEX ASC J011136.63+225357.5 | Galaxy Evolution Explorer | or GALEXASC, "all sky catalog" |
| GAMA | GAMA J141103.98-003242.3 | GAMA | |
| GASS | GASS 3505 | GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey | |
| GAT | GAT 1373 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| GB6 | GB6 J0019+732 | Green Bank 6-cm Radio Source Catalog | |
| GBS | GBS 0525-66 | gamma-ray burst | or GRB, "gamma burst source" |
| GCGSS | GCGSS 184 | rare designator prefixes | S-type star, same as CSS |
| GCIRS | GCIRS 13E | rare designator prefixes | "Galactic Center IR Source" |
| GCRV | GCRV 1526 | General Catalogue of Stellar Radial Velocities | |
| GCTP | GCTP 3242.00 | General Catalogue of Trigonometric Parallaxes | |
| GD | GD 356 | rare designator prefixes | Giclas dwarf |
| GH | GH 7-21 | rare designator prefixes | author, cluster |
| Giclas | Giclas 9-38 B | Lowell Proper Motion Survey | |
| Ginga | Ginga 2000+25 | Ginga | |
| GJ | GJ 1132 b | Gliese-Jahreiss Catalog | |
| Gl | Gl 1132 b | Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars | abbreviated |
| Gliese | Gliese 1132 b | Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars | |
| GLIMPSE | GLIMPSE C01 | Spitzer Space Telescope | GLIMPSE survey |
| Gmb | Gmb 3689 | Catalog of Circumpolar Stars | |
| GMRT | GMRTLH J105432.8+584720 | Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope | |
| GN | GN 00.33.9 | Atlas of Galactic Nebulae | |
| GN | GN-z10-1 | GOODS | GOODS-North |
| GNS | GNS-JD2 | GOODS NICMOS Survey | |
| GR | GR 8 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer's/author's initials |
| GR | GR 31 | rare designator prefixes | cataloger, red dwarf |
| GRB | GRB 170817A | gamma-ray burst | general GRB prefix |
| GRO | GRO J1655-40 | Compton Gamma Ray Observatory | |
| Groombridge | Groombridge 1618 | Catalog of Circumpolar Stars | |
| GRS | GRS 1124-683 | GRANAT | |
| GRW | GRW +70 8247 | Astrographic Catalog | Greenwich zone |
| GS | GS 2000+25 | Ginga | for "Ginga satellite" |
| GS | GS 4 | GOODS | GOODS-South |
| GSC | GSC 03549-02811 | Guide Star Catalog | |
| GSPC | GSPC S840-F1 | Guide Star Catalog | photometric catalog |
| GSS | GSS 073_1810 | Extended Groth Strip | Groth Strip Survey |
| GW | GW170817 | GW detection | |
| GX | GX 339-4 | X-ray source | general for "galactic X-ray source" |
| H | H 2356-309 | HEAO-1 | various surveys on various instruments |
| H | H V 79 | Herschel Double Star Catalog | |
| H | H4043 | High Energy Transient Explorer | mission's ID |
| Haro | Haro 29 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| HAT | HAT-P-9b | HATNet | |
| HATS | HATS-2b | HATNet | HAT-South |
| HB | HB 2124-4228 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| HB87 | HB87 1602-576 | Hewitt & Burbidge Catalog | |
| HB89 | HB89 2343+125 BX442 | Hewitt & Burbidge Catalog | 1987 addition |
| HB93 | HB93 1429-008 | Hewitt & Burbidge Catalog | 1993 addition |
| HBK | HBK 0-1 | HBK | |
| HBV | HBV 475 | rare designator prefixes | observatory, variable |
| HCG | HCG 92 | rare designator prefixes | author, "compact group" |
| HD | HD 133131 | Henry Draper Catalog | |
| HDE | HDE 326823 | Henry Draper Catalog | "E" is redundant |
| HDF | HDF 850.1 | Hubble Deep Field | |
| HE | HE0230-4323 | Hamburg/ESO Survey | |
| Herz | Herz 10688 | Herz catalog | |
| HESS | HESS J1731-347 | High Energy Stereoscopic System | |
| HFLS | HFLS3 | rare designator prefixes | Herschel FLS field |
| HG | HG 121102 | fast radio burst | host galaxy of the FRB |
| HG | HG 7-206 | rare designator prefixes | Giclas (author), Hyades Cluster |
| HH | HH 36 | Herbig-Haro object | generic designator |
| HIC | HIC 59206 | Hipparcos | input catalog |
| HIP | HIP 45982 b | Hipparcos | |
| HIPASS | HIPASS J0731-69 | HIPASS | |
| HIZOA | HIZOA J0836-43 | Parkes HI Zone of Avoidance Survey | |
| HIZSS | HIZSS 003 | Parkes HI Zone of Avoidance Survey | "shallow survey" |
| HJ | HJ 342 | Herschel Double Star Catalog | John Herschel |
| HLX | HLX-1 | rare designator prefixes | "hyperluminous X-ray source" |
| Holmberg | Holmberg II | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| HR | HR 8799 | Bright Star Catalog | |
| HS | HS 1946+7658 | Hamburg Schmidt Survey | |
| HSH | HSH95 31 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| HST | HST14176+5226 | Hubble Space Telescope | |
| HUDF | HUDF-JD2 | Hubble Ultra-Deep Field | |
| HV | HV 2112 | rare designator prefixes | "Harvard Variable" star catalog |
| HVS | HVS 2 | hypervelocity star | |
| HZ | HZ 9 | rare designator prefixes | discoverers' initials |
| IC | IC 342 | Index Catalog | |
| IDS | IDS 05200+2831 A | Washington Double Star Catalog | Index Catalog of Double Stars |
| IGR | IGR J00158+5605 | INTEGRAL | |
| iPTF | iPTF14hls | Palomar Transient Factory | Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory |
| IRAS F | IRAS F00521-7054 | IRAS | FSC (Faint Source Catalog) |
| IRAS | IRAS 16399-0937 | IRAS | |
| IRC | IRC -10414 | Two Micron Sky Survey | |
| ISG | ISG 39 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials and G for galaxy |
| ISO | ISO 217 | Infrared Space Observatory | |
| ISOHDFS | ISOHDFS 27 | Hubble Deep Field South | "Infrared Source Observation" |
| K | K5 | King Catalog | |
| K2 | K2-3b | K2 | |
| KAT | KAT7HI J103151-345117 | MeerKAT | KAT-7 |
| KDG | KDG 52 | rare designator prefixes | author's initial and DG for "dwarf galaxy" |
| KELT | KELT-10 | KELT | |
| Kelu | Kelu-1 | rare designator prefixes | name |
| Kepler | Kepler-186f | Kepler Telescope | confirmed planet |
| KH | KH 24D | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| KIC | KIC 8462852 | Kepler Telescope | input catalog |
| King | King 5 | King Catalog | |
| KKH | KKH 060 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| KKR | KKR 25 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| KOI | KOI-571.05 | Kepler Telescope | Kepler object of interest |
| KPD | KPD 1930+2752 | rare designator prefixes | Kitt Peak & author initial |
| Kruger | Kruger 60 | rare designator prefixes | (or Kr) discoverer |
| KUG | KUG 1210+301B | Kiso Survey of Ultraviolet Excess Galaxies | |
| KUI | KUI 75 | rare designator prefixes | author: Kuiper, sometimes KPR |
| KUV | KUV 410-4 | rare designator prefixes | Kondo (author), UV excess |
| L | L 143-23 | rare designator prefixes | 1940s Luyten surveys |
| Lac | Lac 9352 | Lacaille Star Catalog | |
| Lacaille | Lacaille 9352 | Lacaille Star Catalog | |
| LAE | LAE J095950.99+021219.1 | Lyman-alpha emitter | general prefix for LAEs |
| LAL | LAL 21185 | rare designator prefixes | or "Lal", for "Lalande" |
| Lalande | Lalande 21185 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| LAMOST | LAMOST J12280490-014825.7 | LAMOST | |
| LAWD | LAWD 13 | rare designator prefixes | Luyten (author), white dwarf |
| LB | LB 1479 | rare designator prefixes | Luyten "blue" |
| LBG | LBG J213512.73-010143 | Lyman-break galaxy | general prefix for LBGs |
| LBN | LBN 1976 | Lynds Catalogue of Bright Nebulae | |
| LBQS | LBQS 1429-008 | Large Bright QSO Survey | |
| LBV | LBV 1806-20 | luminous blue variable | possibly the only use as a prefix |
| LCL | LCL 120 AB | Lacaille Star Catalog | Washington Double Star Catalog code |
| LCRS | LCRS B035620.1-420206 | Las Campanas Redshift Survey | |
| LDN | LDN 1689 | Lynds Catalog of Dark Nebulae | |
| LDS | LDS 131 A | Luyten Double Star Survey | |
| LEDA | LEDA 42102 | Principal Galaxies Catalog | precursor to PGC |
| LEHPM | LEHPM 1902 | rare designator prefixes | Liverpool-Edinburgh high PM |
| LESS | LESS J033136.0-275439 | LABOCA Extended Chandra Deep Field-South Submillimetre Survey | |
| LFT | LFT 833 | Luyten Half-second Catalog | 1955 version |
| LGS | LGS 3 | rare designator prefixes | "Local Group, Suspected" |
| LH | LH 10 | rare designator prefixes | OB association, authors |
| LH | LH 10-3209 | rare designator prefixes | star within LH association |
| LHO | LHO 110 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| LHS | LHS 1140 | Luyten Half-second Catalog | |
| LINEAR | LINEAR 10 | LINEAR | |
| LkCl | LkCl-15 | Lick Observatory Calcium Line Survey | |
| LMC AB | LMC AB 12 | rare designator prefixes | LMC & authors' initials |
| LP | LP 731-58 | Luyten Palomar Survey | |
| LPM | LPM 101 | Bruce Proper Motion Survey | 1941 list |
| LQG | LQG 1 | large quasar group | general term |
| LS | LS IV-14 116 | Case-Hamburg Survey | |
| LSE | LSE 239 | Case-Hamburg Survey | extension |
| LSPM | LSPM J0207+333 | Lépine Shara Proper Motion catalog | |
| LSQ | LSQ14bdq | LaSilla-QUEST Variability Survey | |
| LSR | LSR J0822+1700 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| LSS | LSS 4067 | Case-Hamburg Survey | southern Milky Way |
| LTT | LTT 17897 | Luyten Two-Tenths Arcsecond Catalog | |
| Luhman | Luhman 16 | rare designator prefixes | (or LUH) discoverer |
| Lupus | Lupus-TR-3b | Lupus Transit Survey | |
| M | M87 | Messier Catalog | |
| M | M85-HCC1 | Messier Catalog | galaxy near M85 |
| M33 | m33-013406.63 | Triangulum Galaxy | M33 star |
| M82 | M82 X-1 | M82 | X-ray source |
| MACHO | MACHO-LMC-4 | MACHO Project | |
| MACS | MACS J0025.4-1222 | Massive Cluster Survey | |
| MACS | MACS J0057-734 10 | Magellanic Catalogue of Stars | |
| Maffei | Maffei 1 | rare designator prefixes | author name |
| Malin | Malin 1 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| Mark | Mark 335 | Markarian galaxy | |
| Markarian | Markarian 335 | Markarian galaxy | |
| Markarian | Markarian 6 | rare designator prefixes | stellar clusters, author |
| MASCARA | MASCARA-1b | MASCARA | |
| MAXI | MAXI J0556-332 | MAXI | |
| Mayall | Mayall II | rare designator prefixes | used in 1953 paper |
| MB | MB 3 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| MCC | MCC 481 | rare designator prefixes | observatory |
| MCG | MCG +8-11-11 | Morphological Catalogue of Galaxies | |
| MDS | MDS uem0-043 | Medium Deep Survey | |
| Mel | Mel 25 | Melotte Catalog | |
| Melnick | Melnick 42 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| Melotte | Melotte 25 | Melotte Catalog | |
| MENeaCS | MENeaCS Abell2033-5-19-0 | Multi-Epoch Nearby Cluster Survey | |
| MGC | MGC 27301 | Millennium Galaxy Catalogue | |
| MGC | MGC1 | rare designator prefixes | for "Martin Globular Cluster", Nicolas Martin, primary author |
| MGRO | MGRO J1908+06 | Milagro | |
| Mills | Mills 19+4 | Badgerys Creek Interferometer 101MHz Survey | |
| Mkn | Mkn 335 | Markarian galaxy | |
| MlbO | MlbO 4 | rare designator prefixes | Melbourne Obs. discovery |
| MLO | MLO 4 | rare designator prefixes | Melbourne Obs. discovery |
| MOA | MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb | MOA | |
| MP | MP J0000-3556 | USS Sources | data from MRC and PMN |
| MR | MR 2251-178 | rare designator prefixes | maybe for MIT Ricker? |
| Mrk | Mrk 335 | Markarian galaxy | |
| MSX | MSX 6C G160.2784-18.4216 | Midcourse Space Experiment | |
| MUNICS | MUNICS S7F5 254 | Munich Near-Infrared Cluster Survey | |
| MWC | MWC 349 | rare designator prefixes | "Mount Wilson Catalog" |
| MXB | MXB 1658-298 | MIT X-ray Burst Source Catalog | |
| NDWFS | NDWFS J1426+3531 | NOAO Deep Wide-field Survey | |
| NG | NG 0522-2518 017220 | NGTS | |
| NGC | NGC 253 | New General Catalogue | |
| NGC | NGC 3603-A1a | New General Catalogue | star within cluster NGC 3603 |
| NGTS | NGTS-1b | NGTS | |
| NLTT | NLTT 6655 | Luyten Two-Tenths Arcsecond Catalog | later replacement |
| NML | NML Cygni | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| NOMAD1 | NOMAD1 1243-0140899 | NOMAD | |
| NRAO | NRAO 620 | NRAO Catalog | |
| NSV | NSV 11288 | New Catalogue of Suspected Variable Stars | |
| NuSTAR | NuSTAR J100259+0220.5 | NuSTAR | |
| NVSS | NVSS J093731-102001a | NRAO VLA Sky Survey | |
| O | OA 084 | Ohio Radio Survey | prefix "OHIO" later adopted |
| OΣ | OΣ123 | Struve Catalogs | younger Struve |
| OΣΣ | OΣ123 | Struve Catalogs | younger Struve appendix |
| OAO | OAO 1653-40 | Orbiting Astronomical Observatory | |
| Ocl | Ocl-89 | rare designator prefixes | open cluster |
| OGLE | OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb | OGLE | |
| OHIO | OHIO A 084 | Ohio Radio Survey | |
| OMC | OMC-1 | Orion Molecular Cloud Complex | for "Orion Molecular Cloud" |
| Oo | Oo 2311 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| P | P871 | rare designator prefixes | author initial |
| P-L | 6344 P-L | Palomar-Leiden Survey | |
| PA | PA-00-S3 | POINT-AGAPE | |
| Pal | Pal 15 | Palomar Globular Clusters | or "Cl Pal 15" |
| Palomar | Palomar 15 | Palomar Globular Clusters | or "Cl Palomar 15" |
| PAndAS | PAndAS-8 | PAndAS | |
| Par | Par 21 | Parsamian Nebula Catalog | |
| Parsamian | Parsamian 21 | Parsamian Nebula Catalog | |
| PC | PC 1247+3406 | Palomar Four-filter Survey | |
| PDS | PDS 456 | Pico dos Dias Survey | |
| PG | PG 0052+251 | Palomar-Green Survey | |
| PGC | PGC 63287 | Principal Galaxies Catalog | |
| PH | PH1 | Planet Hunters | aka PH1b |
| PHR | PHR J1510-6754 | MASH Catalog of Planetary Nebulae | for discoverers |
| Pismis | Pismis 24-17 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| PK | PK 63+13.1 | Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae | |
| PKS | PKS 0130-17 | Parkes Catalog | |
| PLX | PLX 695 | General Catalog of Trigonometric Parallaxes | |
| PMN | PMN J0006-0623 | Parkes-MIT-NRAO Surveys | |
| PN | PN G315.4-08.4 | planetary nebula | general planetary nebula prefix |
| PNG | PNG 215.5-30.8 | Strasbourg-ESO Catalog of Galactic Planetary Nebulae | for "Planetary Nebulae Galactic" |
| POINT-AGAPE | POINT-AGAPE-S3 | POINT-AGAPE | |
| POTS | POTS-1b | Pre-OmegaTranS | |
| PPM | PPM 164850 | PPM Star Catalogue | |
| PQ | PQOT015849-022627 | Palomar 48 Inch Telescope | Palomar-Quest Survey |
| Pr | Pr0201 | rare designator prefixes | for open cluster Praesepe |
| PRC | PRC D-51 | Polar-ring Catalog | |
| PS | PS 130 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| PS1 | PS1-10jh | Pan-STARRS | PS1-discovered transients |
| PSO | PSO J246.4222+15.4698 | Pan-STARRS | |
| PSR | PSR 1257+12 | pulsar | "PSR" used for any pulsar irrespective of catalog |
| PTF | PTF09dah | Palomar Transient Factory | |
| Q | Q0051-279 | rare designator prefixes | for "quasar", referencing single survey |
| Qatar | Qatar-4b | Qatar Exoplanet Survey | |
| QQ | QQ2345+007 | rare designator prefixes | double quasar |
| QQQ | QQQ J1432-0106 | rare designator prefixes | triple quasar |
| QSO | QSO B1957+405 | quasar | general prefix |
| QSR | QSR J1819+3845 | quasar | general for "radio-loud quasar" |
| Quasar | Quasar J192748.6+735802 | quasar | general prefix |
| R | R136 | Radcliffe Observatory Magellanic Clouds Catalogue | abbreviated |
| RAFGL | RAFGL 5081 | AFGL Four Color Infrared Sky Survey | 1980s enlarged revision |
| RBS | RBS 78 | Rosat Bright Survey | |
| RD | RD1 | dropout | general for "red dropout" |
| RDCS | RDCS 1252.-2927 | ROSAT | Deep Cluster survey |
| RE | RE J0317-853 | ROSAT | ROSAT EUV |
| Renson | Renson 570 | rare designator prefixes | "General catalogue of Ap and Am Stars" |
| Reticulum | Reticulum II Dwarf | rare designator prefixes | constellation name |
| RGB | RGB J0152+017 | RASS/Green Bank Catalog | |
| RGZ | RGZ J103435.8+251817 | Radio Galaxy Zoo | |
| RHS | RHS 03 | Rosat Hard Survey | |
| RMC | RMC 136 | Radcliffe Observatory Magellanic Clouds Catalogue | |
| Rob | Rob 270 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| Ross | Ross 154 | Frank Ross's Catalog | |
| ROTSE | ROTSE3 J222115.63+403454.8 | ROTSE | |
| ROX | ROXs 12b | Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex | |
| RRAT | RRAT J1819-1458 | rotating radio transient | |
| RSGC | RSGC1 | red supergiant cluster | |
| RSGCn | RSGC1-F02 | red supergiant cluster | member of RSGC1 |
| RST | RST 1154 | Catalogue of Southern Double Stars | |
| RX | RX J0720.4-3125 | ROSAT | ROSAT observation |
| RXC | RXC J0516.6-5430 | ROSAT | galaxy cluster |
| S5 | S5 0014+813 | Strong Source Surveys | |
| SAGE | SAGE1CJ053634.78-722658.5 | SAGE | |
| SAND | SAND364 | rare designator prefixes | paper by "Sanders" re open cluster |
| SAO | SAO 75144 | SAO Star Catalog | |
| SAX | SAX J1750.8-2900 | BeppoSAX | |
| SB | SB-WF 3572-1508 | rare designator prefixes | Hubble Deep Field South SB field |
| SBS | SBS 0335-052 | Second Byurakan Survey | |
| SCP | SCP 06F6 | Supernova Cosmology Project | |
| SCR | SCR J1546-5534 | SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey | SuperCOSMOS-RECONS nearby star |
| SDF | SDF J132418.3+271455 | Subaru Deep Field | |
| SDSS | SDSS 1346-0031 | Sloan Digital Sky Survey | |
| SDSSp | SDSSp J104433.04-012502.2 | Sloan Digital Sky Survey | "provisory" |
| Segue | Segue 2 | Sloan Digital Sky Survey | SEGUE discovery |
| Sextans | Sextans Dwarf Sph | rare designator prefixes | constellation name |
| SGR | SGR 0418+5729 | soft gamma repeater | general for "SGRs" |
| Sh2 | Sh2-106 | Sharpless Catalog | |
| Sher | Sher 25 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| SHJ | SHJ 44 | Herschel Double Star Catalog | John Herschel/James South |
| SIMP | SIMP J013656.5+093347 | SIMP | |
| SIPS | SIPS1259-4336 | rare designator prefixes | catalog from 2MASS data |
| Sk | Sk -68 137 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| SKHB | SKHB 1 | SKHB | |
| SL | SL 9 | rare designator prefixes | discoverers |
| Sm | Sm 15 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| SM | SM0313 | SkyMapper Southern Survey | abbreviated form |
| SMC | SMC 018136 | rare designator prefixes | survey of galaxy |
| Smethells | Smethells 15 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| SMM | SMM J02399-0136 | submillimeter galaxy designator | "submillimeter" |
| SMSS | SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 | SkyMapper Southern Survey | |
| SN | SN UDS10Wil | supernova | |
| SNF | SNF20080514-002 | Nearby Supernova Factory | |
| SNLS | SNLS-03D1aw | Supernova Legacy Survey | |
| SO | SO025300.5+165258 | rare designator prefixes | maybe "Skymorph object" or "stellar object" |
| SP77 | SP77 46-44 | rare designator prefixes | (or SP) authors, publication year |
| SPIRITS | SPIRITS14bsb | SPIRITS | |
| SPOCS | SPOCS 1001 | Spectroscopic Properties of Cool Stars | |
| SPT | SPT 0243-49 | South Pole Telescope | galaxy |
| SPT-CL | SPT-CL J0546-5345 | South Pole Telescope | galaxy cluster |
| SR | SR 12 | rare designator prefixes | paper by Struve & Rudkjøbing of stars in Ophiuchus and Scorpius clouds |
| SS | SSA22-HCM1 | Hawaii K-band Galaxy Survey | A22 is field. |
| SS | SS 433 | rare designator prefixes | author initials |
| SSS | SSS120810 | Catalina Sky Survey | observatory, SN |
| SSS | SSS17a | Swope Supernova Survey | |
| SSSPM | SSSPM J1549-3544 | SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey | SSS Proper Motion star |
| SST | SST24 J1434110+331733 | Spitzer Space Telescope | |
| Stein | Stein 2031 | rare designator prefixes | double star discoverer |
| Steph | Steph 762 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| STF | STF2740 | Struve Catalogs | elder Struve WDS code |
| StHA | StHA 169 | rare designator prefixes | author, H-alpha emitting stars |
| STIS | STIS 123627+621755 | rare designator prefixes | Hubble Space Telescope STIS instrument |
| StKM | StKM 1-762 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| Struve | Struve 1 | Struve Catalogs | ambiguous |
| STT | STT123 | Struve Catalogs | younger Struve WDS code |
| STTA | STTA 123 AB | Struve Catalogs | younger Struve appendix |
| SWEEPS | SWEEPS-16 | Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search | |
| SWIRE | SWIRE J022550.67-042142 | Spitzer Space Telescope | SWIRE survey |
| SXDF | SXDF-NB1006-2 | Subaru XMM-Newton Deep Survey | in SXDS field |
| TAP | TAP 26 | Taurus-Auriga Complex | or Perseus Complex |
| Teide | Teide 1 | rare designator prefixes | observatory |
| Terzan | Terzan 5 | rare designator prefixes | series of papers re 12 globular clusters |
| Teutsch | Teutsch 126 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer |
| TIC | TIC 410451752 | Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite | input catalog |
| TMSS | TMSS -10122 | Two Micron Sky Survey | |
| TN | TN J0924-2201 | USS Sources | data from TXS and NVSS |
| TOI | TOI 700 d | Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite | object of interest |
| TON | TON S180 | Tonantzintla Surveys | or "Ton S180" |
| TR | TR-122 | OGLE | shortened, TR meaning "transit" |
| TRAPPIST | TRAPPIST-1 | TRAPPIST | |
| TrES | TrES-4b | Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey | |
| Trumpler | Trumpler 27 | rare designator prefixes | (or "Tr"), author |
| TS | TS 335 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| TVLM | TVLM 513-46546 | rare designator prefixes | author, "very low mass" |
| TWA | TWA 9 | TW Hydrae association | |
| TXS | TXS 1156+295 | Texas Survey of Radio Sources at 365 MHz | |
| TYC | TYC 3162-665-1 | Hipparcos | Tycho-1 or -2 Catalog |
| U | U1.27 | large quasar group | meaning "unit of quasars" with z number |
| U | U 494 | rare designator prefixes | "UPG" abbreviated |
| UBV | UBV 6193 | rare designator prefixes | catalogs UBV data |
| ubvy98 | ubvy98 100180540 | rare designator prefixes | filters |
| UCAC | UCAC3 70-2386 | USNO CCD Astrograph Catalog | |
| UDF | UDF 1 | Hubble Ultra-Deep Field | |
| UDFj | UDFj-39546284 | Hubble Ultra-Deep Field | HUDF09 J-band dropout |
| UDFy | UDFy-38135539 | Hubble Ultra-Deep Field | HUDF09 Y-band dropout |
| UDXS | UDXS J221611.51+003308.1 | UKIDSS | deep extragalactic survey |
| UGC | UGC 7654 | Uppsala General Catalogue | |
| UGCA | UGCA 205 | Uppsala General Catalogue | addendum |
| UGCS | UGCS J030013.86+490142.5 | UKIDSS | galactic clusters survey |
| UGP | UGP 619 | rare designator prefixes | author initials |
| UGPS | UGPS J0521+3640 | UKIDSS | galactic plane survey |
| UIT | UIT 3 | Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope | |
| ULAS | ULAS J112001.48+064124.3 | UKIDSS | large area survey |
| UMa | UMa I dSph | rare designator prefixes | constellation abbreviation: Ursa Major |
| UPG | UPG 494 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| UScoCTIO | UScoCTIO 108 | CTIO Upper-Scorpius OB Association Survey | |
| USNO | USNO 689 | USNO | star parallax list |
| USNO-A | USNO-A2.0 0825-18396733 | USNO | astrometric catalog edition |
| USNO-B | USNO-B1.0 1047-0021596 | USNO | astrometric catalog edition |
| UUDS | UUDS J021922.01-045536.3 | UKIDSS | deep survey |
| UVOTSSC1 | UVOTSSC1 J023436.6-084707 | Swift | |
| Var | Var. A-1 | luminous blue variable | used for some in M31 and M33 |
| Var | Var 83 | rare designator prefixes | M33 "variable" |
| VB | VB 8 | rare designator prefixes | discoverer initials |
| VCC | VCC 1993 | Virgo Cluster Catalog | |
| vdB | vdB 26 | Van Den Bergh Reflection Nebula Catalog | |
| vdB-Ha | vB-Ha 47 | rare designator prefixes | authors |
| VFTS | VFTS 682 | VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey | |
| VHS | VHS J125601.92-125723.9 | VISTA | VHS survey |
| VIK | VIK J1148+0056 | VISTA | VIKING survey |
| VLA | VLA 1623 | Very Large Array | |
| VLT | VLT085859.60-473127.5 | European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope | uncommon |
| VV | VV 72 | Catalogue of Interacting Galaxies | |
| VV2000c | VV2000c J195928.3+404402 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| VVDS | VVDS-20463884 | VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey | |
| VVO | VVO 230 | rare designator prefixes | Van Vleck Observatory |
| VVV | VVV J114135.16-622055.51 | VISTA | VVV survey |
| Vys | Vys 3 | rare designator prefixes | author, same as MCC |
| W | W 57 | Westerhout Radio Survey | |
| WASP | WASP-17 | WASP | |
| WD | WD 0806-661 | Villanova White Dwarf Catalog | |
| WDS | WDS 10494+5517 | Washington Double Star Catalog | |
| Westerlund | Westerlund 1-26 | rare designator prefixes | (or W26) cluster discoverer |
| Willman | Willman 1 | rare designator prefixes | name of a discoverer |
| WINGS | WINGS J1348 | WINGS | |
| WISE | WISE 1506+7027 | Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer | |
| WISEP | WISEP J004701.06+680352.1 | Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer | preliminary release catalog |
| WMAP | WMAP J184840+3223 | Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe | radio source |
| WN | WN J0000+4654 | USS Sources | data from WENSS and NVSS |
| WNC | WNC 4 | rare designator prefixes | or "Winnecke", discover |
| Wo | Wo 9540 C | rare designator prefixes | catalog author |
| WOH | WHO G64 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| Wolf | Wolf 359 | Max Wolf's catalog of stars with proper motion | |
| WR | WR 124 | Wolf-Rayet star | |
| Wray | Wray 17-96 | rare designator prefixes | author |
| WT | WT 469 | rare designator prefixes | author initials |
| WTS | WTS-1b | WFCAM Transit Survey | |
| XCS | J2215.9-1738 | XMM Cluster Survey | abbreviated |
| XMMSL1 | XMMSL1 J070542.7-381442 | XMM-Newton | slew survey |
| XMMU | XMMU J004814.1-731003 | XMM-Newton | |
| XMMXCS | J2215.9-1738 | XMM Cluster Survey | |
| XO | XO-1b | XO Project | |
| XSS | XSS J00564+4548 | RXTE | XTE slew survey |
| XTE | XTE J1755-324 | RXTE | |
| YBP | YBP 1194 | rare designator prefixes | author initials |
| YGKOW | YGKOW G1 | rare designator prefixes | authors' initials |
| z8 | z8 GND 5296 | rare designator prefixes | apparently for "z rounds to 8, GOODS North Deep" |
| zCOSMOS | zCOSMOS 824314 | Cosmic Evolution Survey | zCOSMOS |
| ZF | ZF-COSMOS-20115 | FourStar Galaxy Evolution Survey | |
| ZOAG | ZOAG G135.74-04.53 | zone of avoidance | |
| ZTF | ZTF J0139+5245 | Palomar Transient Factory | Zwicky Transient Facility |
| Zw | Zw I 18 | Catalog of Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies | or cited as "I Zw 18" |