Source designations for objects in all NEOWISE Single-exposure Source Database conform to the recommendations outlined in the International Astronomical Union's specifications concerning designations for astronomical radiation sources outside the solar system. Source designations should be given as:
NWISExy Jhhmmss.ss±ddmmss.s
The decimal parts of the RA seconds and Declination arcseconds are truncated rather than rounded, per the IAU recommendation. The coordinate sequence is the sexagesimal J2000-equinox RA and Declination, hence the "J" designator.
The NWISE part of the acronym is used to identify detection information derived from NEOWISE Reactivation mission data. The xy part of the acronym distinguishes the data processing provenance and exact data products from which the detection information is drawn. Because reduction algorithms and astrometric calibrations changed between data processing phases, the reported position of a detection, and therefore its coordinate designation, may be different in the different data sets. The full set of acronyms used for NEOWISE and the earlier WISE data releases are listed in Table 1.
| Acronym | Catalog/Database |
| For objects in the NEOWISE Data Releases | |
| NWISEF | For objects in the NEOWISE Single-exposure Source Database |
| For objects in the AllWISE Data Release | |
| WISEA | For objects in the AllWISE Source Catalog |
| WISEAR | For objects in the AllWISE Reject Table |
| For objects in the All-Sky, 3-Band Cryo and 2013 Post-Cryo Data Releases | |
| WISE | For objects in the All-Sky Release Source Catalog |
| WISER | For objects in the All-Sky Release Reject Table |
| WISEAF | For objects in the All-Sky Release Single-Exposure Source Working Database |
| WISET | For objects in the 3-Band Cryo Source Working Database |
| WISETF | For objects in the 3-Band Cryo Single-Exposure Source Working Database |
| WISENF | For objects in the 2013 NEOWISE Post-Cryo Release Single-Exposure Source Working Database |
| For objects in the Preliminary Data Releases | |
| WISEPa | For objects in the Preliminary Release Source Catalog |
| WISEPFa | For objects in the Preliminary Release Single-Exposure Source Working Database |
| WISEPAb | For objects in the first-pass processing Atlas Tile Source Working Database |
| WISEPCb | For objects in the first-pass processing operations Coadd Source Working Database |
| WISEWFc | For objects in the NEOWISE Post-Cryo Preliminary Release Single-Exposure Source Working Database |
The acronym designation is not carried explicitly for entries in the NEOWISE or WISE Databases and Catalogs to save space. The designation sequence is not included in the NEOWISE Single-exposure Source Database, or the AllWISE Multiepoch Source Database, or the Single-exposure Source Databases for the WISE All-Sky, 3-Band Cryo or Post-Cryo Releases, but must be computed from the equatorial coordinates.
For example, the complete designations for two detections in the NEOWISE Single-exposure Source Database are:
NWISEF J031729.18-034111.5 (= asteroid 130 Elektra detected in NEOWISE frameset 51477b186)
and
NWISEF J122906.68+020308.6 (= quasar 3C 273 detected in NEOWISE frameset 44740a118)
Last Update: 17 August 2024