The Scale
The observable universe contains an estimated two trillion galaxies. We have cataloged 22 million of them — a fraction of a percent of what is out there, and still an overwhelming number for any human mind to hold.
Most carry designations like NGC 4889. SDSS J1030+0524. 2MASX J00015146-0015498. These are coordinate addresses. They tell our instruments where to look. They say nothing about what the galaxy is — whether it spirals majestically, glows with the heat of a trillion new stars, or has spent the last ten billion years in quiet, elliptical solitude.
We think that deserves to change.
The Approach
CORE assigns each galaxy a proper name, drawn from archetype pools shaped by the galaxy's own nature. Spirals receive names that evoke motion and order. Ellipticals carry names of patience and age. Irregulars get names of restlessness. Distant quasars — ancient, blazing, impossibly far — receive names that honor their light traveling billions of years to reach us.
The engine is deterministic: the same galaxy always returns the same name. That name belongs to that galaxy, permanently, derived from its catalog ID. And every name arrives with a reason — a paragraph that explains why this word fits this particular island universe.
22 million galaxies. 22 million names. Each one earned.