<p>This has to do with <a href="https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/info/OldDesDoc.html" rel="noreferrer">how minor planets obtain provisional names</a> (see also <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_designation_in_astronomy#Minor_planets" rel="noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>). The year is divided into 24 half months, with a particular letter associated with each one. Each of these half-months has a number of cycles of length 25 depending on how many minor planets are discovered; a minor planet is assigned a letter corresponding to its order in the cycle, and the number of the cycle it is in. This means that the provisional name for a minor planet is, in general,</p>

<p><code>year</code>+<code>half-month</code>+<code>position in cycle</code>+<code>cycle number</code></p>

<p>2012 VP<sub>113</sub> was discovered in 2012, in the first half-month of November (corresponding to the letter V) and was the 15th minor planet discovered in the 113th cycle that half-month.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-18T03:05:09.130Z
Very nice, and much more complex than I expected! P is the 16th letter of the alphabet, do they skip "I" to get to 25?
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-18T03:10:50.513Z
@uhoh Yes, they do.
HDE 226868
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-18T08:47:41.337Z
hmm... not sure why I hadn't accepted, thanks for your authoritative, concise and yet well-sourced answer!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-18T02:56:56.737Z
2018-12-18T02:56:56.737Z
HDE 226868
<p>The Carnegie Science article <a href="https://carnegiescience.edu/news/solar-systems-edge-redefined" rel="noreferrer">Solar System's Edge Redefined</a> describes the discovery of the object 2012 VP113.</p>
<p>Wikipedia's article <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_VP113" rel="noreferrer">2012 VP113</a> says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Nickname:</p>
<p>2012 VP113 was abbreviated &quot;VP&quot; and nicknamed &quot;Biden&quot; by the discovery team, after Joe Biden, who at the time of discovery, was Vice President (VP) of the United States.<sup>11</sup></p>
<p><sup>11</sup> <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/dwarf-planet-stretches-solar-system-s-edge-1.14921" rel="noreferrer">Dwarf planet stretches Solar System's edge</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>and the referenced Nature News item says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The newfound object's official name is 2012 VP113, but the discovery team calls it VP for short, or just 'Biden' — after US Vice-President Joe Biden. In several years time, after observations have pinned down its orbit, the scientists will submit a name for consideration by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the organization in charge of celestial nomenclature.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> I understand that VP is short for Vice President, but where do those two letter codes come from? Is the VP in the object's name short for something literal (did the team choose these two letters?), or just a random computer-generated code, or something else?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-18T03:40:14.230Z
slightly related: [How do they know how far out Farout is? (2018 VG18)](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/28771/7982)
uhoh
<asteroids><naming><dwarf-planets><iau>
How did Biden become VP? (naming of 2012 VP113)
uhoh
# How did Biden become VP? (naming of 2012 VP113)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-12-18)

The Carnegie Science article [Solar System's Edge Redefined](https://carnegiescience.edu/news/solar-systems-edge-redefined) describes the discovery of the object 2012 VP113.

Wikipedia's article [2012 VP113](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_VP113) says:

> Nickname:
>
> 2012 VP113 was abbreviated "VP" and nicknamed "Biden" by the discovery team, after Joe Biden, who at the time of discovery, was Vice President (VP) of the United States.11
>
> 11 [Dwarf planet stretches Solar System's edge](https://www.nature.com/news/dwarf-planet-stretches-solar-system-s-edge-1.14921)

and the referenced Nature News item says:

> The newfound object's official name is 2012 VP113, but the discovery team calls it VP for short, or just 'Biden' — after US Vice-President Joe Biden. In several years time, after observations have pinned down its orbit, the scientists will submit a name for consideration by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the organization in charge of celestial nomenclature.

**Question:** I understand that VP is short for Vice President, but where do those two letter codes come from? Is the VP in the object's name short for something literal (did the team choose these two letters?), or just a random computer-generated code, or something else?

**Tags:** asteroids, naming, dwarf-planets, iau
> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: slightly related: [How do they know how far out Farout is? (2018 VG18)](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/28771/7982)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-12-18. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

This has to do with [how minor planets obtain provisional names](https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/info/OldDesDoc.html) (see also [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_designation_in_astronomy#Minor_planets)). The year is divided into 24 half months, with a particular letter associated with each one. Each of these half-months has a number of cycles of length 25 depending on how many minor planets are discovered; a minor planet is assigned a letter corresponding to its order in the cycle, and the number of the cycle it is in. This means that the provisional name for a minor planet is, in general,

`year`+`half-month`+`position in cycle`+`cycle number`

2012 VP113 was discovered in 2012, in the first half-month of November (corresponding to the letter V) and was the 15th minor planet discovered in the 113th cycle that half-month.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Very nice, and much more complex than I expected! P is the 16th letter of the alphabet, do they skip "I" to get to 25?  
> **username_1**: @uhoh Yes, they do.  
> **username_0**: hmm... not sure why I hadn't accepted, thanks for your authoritative, concise and yet well-sourced answer!  

---

