designation1975XZ

designation1975XZ is a provisional designation used by the Minor Planet Center to identify a small Solar System body observed in 1975. It is cited in discussions of the MPC's provisional designation system as an example of how new objects are tracked before they receive a permanent number or name.

Format and interpretation: Provisional designations follow the pattern year + two letters, with a possible numeric suffix if more than 25 objects are discovered in the same half-month. In the case of designation1975XZ, the first letter X corresponds to the December 1–15 half-month, and the second letter Z represents the 25th object found in that interval. If more objects had been discovered in that period, the designation would have appended a numeral suffix, such as 1975 XZ 1, 1975 XZ 2, and so on.

Discovery context and status: As a provisional designation, designation1975XZ indicates that an initial discovery was reported to the MPC and that the object's orbit was not yet confirmed as of the time of designation. The object’s subsequent fate—whether it receives a permanent number and possibly a name, or remains unnumbered—depends on subsequent observations that secure its orbit.

Significance and usage: The code illustrates how astronomers temporarily track newly found objects in the Solar System. Provisional designations are superseded only when an object is numbered, and later it may be named according to the conventions of the naming bodies.

See also: Provisional designation, Minor Planet Center, Asteroid designation system.