（2010年公布的最新规则）
The rules defining who discovered a particular object have evolved over the past two centuries. In the days of visual observation, discovery was credited to the first person to report an observation of a new object. If a subsequent report emerged of an earlier observation, the discovery credit was switched to the earlier observer. This reassignment of discovery credit was applied somewhat arbitrarily and there are a number of cases where earlier observations are simply listed as "prediscovery". Designations would be assigned on the basis on single-night approximate measures. When the Minor Planet Center (MPC) was founded, discoveries continued to be credited on the basis of single approximate positions (e.g., Minor Planet Circular 2). After the MPC moved to Cambridge in 1978, an Editorial Notice (Minor Planet Circular 4845-4846) informed observers that approximate observations were no longer eligible for discovery credit. In 1995, the decision was taken to no longer assign designations to single-night detections (Minor Planet Circular 24597).
对于特殊天体的发现权归属的规定已实行了二个世纪，在目测的时代，新天体的发现权属于第一个上报该天体的观测者。如果随后出现更早时间的观测报告，那么发现权属于上报更早观测报告的发现者。但这种发现权更改的行为是武断的，主要原因是更早发现者的观测报告很多只是一些简单的“预发现”数据。这样发现权被授与那些提供简单近似的单晚观测报告的上报人。MPC成立后，发现权仍然属于那些上报人。当MPC于1978年迁址到剑桥大学后，4845-4846公告声明那些提供近似观测报告的上报人不再有资格获得新天体发现权。1995年，24579公告已明确发现权不再属于单晚数据发现者。
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) recently changed the way discovery credit was assigned to new discoveries. Rather than being the earliest observation in the initial two-night linkage, the discovery credit was to be given to the earliest observation at that opposition. In practice, it is often difficult to determine which observation is the earliest at the time the designation needs to be assigned.
MPC 最近更改将发现权授予新发现者的规定，不再把发现权授予最早提供接近的二晚数据的发现者，而是授予在该冲日期最早提供观测报告的发现者。实际上，这样如何区别那个可以获得发现权的最早报告常有些困难.
Effective immediately, the MPC will separate the concept of discovery credit from the assignment of asterisks. Asterisks will revert to being simply an indication of the initial assignment of a new designation and will not be associated with any discoverer.
显而易见，MPC将把“*”号分配与发现权脱离。星号只是简单地标示，与发现权无关
In addition, the MPC will begin adding timetags to all archived and newly-received observations, to indicate when they were received at the MPC.For the moment, these timetags will be maintained only on internal datasets.External availability of the timetags will depend on certain professional users of the observational datasets indicating that their software will cope with the extended format. For newly-submitted observations, the timetags will indicate when the observation was accepted by the AUTOACK routine. For previously-submitted observations, a timetag will be constructed that is related to the date of observation. Known cases of delayed submission of observations will be accounted for in these constructed timetags.
此外，MPC将档案数据及新收到观测数据加入时间标签以标示MPC收到数据的时间。目前这些时间标签在内部数据库及专业人士使用。对新近上报的观测数据，时间标签会在接受观测数据而回复AUTOACK邮件后写入。对以前上报的观测数据，时间签会在确定与数据库数据相关时再创建。显然，滞后上报的观测数据的时间签将晚于已上报的观测数据
Discoverers will be defined only when an object is numbered. At that time, the timetags on all the observations included in the solution will be examined. The discovery observation will be that observation which is the earliest-reported observations at the opposition with the earliest-reported second-night observation. The discovery observation will then define the discoverer. This scheme, which will be entirely automatic, is consistent with the following resolution adopted by Commission 20 at the 1979 IAU General Assembly: "The Commission defines the discovery as the earliest apparition at which an orbit useful in the establishment of identifications was calculated" (taken from Minor Planet Circular 4845-4846).
发现权的归属只有当一个天体获得正式编号后才能确定，那时，就可以对所有观测数据里的时间标签进行检查。发现权属于最早观测到连续二晚数据的冲日期中最早上报观测数据的观测者。这个计划完全由电脑自动处理，也始终如一地贯彻联大会议精神：将荣誉授予对轨道的确定有贡献的观测数据的最早发现上报者。
The new scheme removes one common complaint with the current scheme: that the assignment of discovery credit depended, to some degree, on the ability of either the MPC or the observer to make the initial night-to-night linkages.In addition, it removes the apparent arbitrary nature of the order of designations in new identifications.
新规则消除了对原规则常见的一些抱怨：发现权的确定从某种角度讲取决于MPC或观测者找到各单晚数据联系的能力，同时，也削弱了发现权归属认定上的武断成份.
Objects that have multiple-opposition orbits as of now will be grandfathered into the old scheme of assigning discovery credit.
已经有多个冲日数据的天体仍按原规则实施
题外话：因为这个规则在2010年底改变，彻底改变了业余爱好者在小行星领域的状况，基本扼杀了业余天文爱好者的发现小行星的可能性。这个规则是极其不负责任的，对业余天文爱好者极其不公平的。拿星明天文台为例，小行星巡天开始于2010年底，正好是规则改变后。因为规则改变，也没有重点进行小行星巡天，即便如此截止2018年也拿到了100多颗小行星的临时编号。如果按老规则，在这种情况下，星明天文台保守估计也能拿到四五十颗命名权。而实际情况是，星明天文台2020年前，一颗小行星命名权都没有难道，直到2020年6月，才拿了第1颗小行命名权。星明天文台用60CM口径的望远镜，经过大量叠加才能达到搜索小行星的门槛，小行星搜索的门槛已经提高到21-22等的水平，如果按单张的能力，望远镜口径需要1米级。即便按原先的规则，业余爱好者也已经非常非常难了，更不要说现在的规则。我们也希望专家们可以再次修改规则，让规则更合理，至少对对业余爱好者可以友好些。
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