View source for Astronomical symbols

{{short description|Symbols in astronomy}}
{{distinguish|Astrological symbols}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
[[File:Astronomical symbols in 1833 Nautical Almanac.png|thumbnail|right|This excerpt from the 1833 Nautical Almanac illustrates the use of (upper left) astronomical symbols for the phases of the moon; and (right) the generic symbol for the moon and symbols for the planets and zodiacal constellations.]]
[[File:Bezeichnung der Himmelskörper Encke 1850.png|thumb|upright=0.75|"Designation of celestial bodies" in a German almanac printed in 1850, with the first four asteroids ordered as planets, and the next five appended at the end<ref>{{cite book
 |first=Johann Franz |last=Encke |author-link=Johann Franz Encke
 |year=1850
 |title=Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch für 1853
 |trans-title=The Berlin Astronomical Almanac for 1853
 |place=Berlin |language=DE
 |page=VIII
}}</ref>]]
{{Special characters|image = Uranus symbol (fixed width).svg|alt = Uranus}}
'''Astronomical symbols''' are abstract pictorial [[symbol]]s used to represent [[astronomical object]]s, theoretical constructs and observational events in [[Western culture|European]] [[astronomy]]. The earliest forms of these symbols appear in Greek [[papyrus]] texts of late [[Classical Antiquity|antiquity]]. The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[codex|codices]] in which many Greek papyrus texts were preserved continued and extended the inventory of astronomical symbols.<ref name="neugebauer-1975"/><ref name="neugebauer-1987"/> New symbols have been invented to represent many [[planet]]s and [[minor planet]]s discovered in the 18th to the 21st&nbsp;centuries.

These symbols were once commonly used by professional [[astronomer]]s, amateur astronomers, [[Alchemical symbol|alchemists]], and [[astrologer]]s. While they are still commonly used in almanacs and astrological publications, their occurrence in published research and texts on astronomy is relatively infrequent,<ref name=pasko>{{cite book
| title = American dictionary of printing and bookmaking
| last = Pasko  | first = Wesley Washington
| date = 1894
| publisher = H. Lockwood
| page = [https://archive.org/details/americandiction00paskgoog/page/n43 29]
| url = https://archive.org/details/americandiction00paskgoog
}}</ref> with some exceptions such as the Sun and Earth symbols appearing in [[astronomical constant]]s, and certain zodiacal signs used to represent the [[solstice]]s and [[equinox]]es.

[[Unicode]] has encoded many of these symbols, mainly in the [[Miscellaneous Symbols]],<ref name="Unicode-2600">{{cite web
| date = 2018
| title = Miscellaneous Symbols
| website = unicode.org
| publisher = The Unicode Consortium
| url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2600.pdf
| access-date = November 5, 2018
| archive-date = August 22, 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170822052003/http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2600.pdf
| url-status = live
}}</ref> [[Miscellaneous Symbols and Arrows]],<ref name="Unicode-2B00">{{cite web
| date = 2022
| title = Miscellaneous Symbols and Arrows
| website = unicode.org
| publisher = The Unicode Consortium
| url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2B00.pdf
| access-date = October 23, 2022
| archive-date = August 2, 2022
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220802202914/https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2B00.pdf
| url-status = live
}}</ref> [[Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs]],<ref name="Unicode-1F300">{{cite web
| title = Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs
| date = 2018
| website = unicode.org
| publisher = The Unicode Consortium
| url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F300.pdf
| access-date = November 5, 2018
| archive-date = August 28, 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170828150034/http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F300.pdf
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
[[Alchemical Symbols]],<ref name="Unicode-1F700">{{cite web
| title = Alchemical Symbols
| date = 2022
| website = unicode.org
| publisher = The Unicode Consortium
| url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F700.pdf
| access-date = October 23, 2022
| archive-date = April 2, 2020
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200402042357/http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F700.pdf
| url-status = live
}}</ref> and [[Miscellaneous Symbols Supplement]] blocks.<ref name="Unicode-1CEC0">{{cite web
| title = Miscellaneous Symbols Supplement
| date = 2025
| website = unicode.org
| publisher = The Unicode Consortium
| url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1CEC0.pdf
| access-date = September 9, 2025
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

__TOC__

== Sun and Moon ==
The use of astronomical symbols for the Sun and Moon dates to antiquity. The forms of the symbols that appear in the original papyrus texts of Greek horoscopes are a circle with one ray ([[File:Sun symbol (medieval).svg|class=skin-invert|20px|old sun symbol]]) for the Sun and a crescent for the Moon.<ref name=neugebauer-1987>{{cite book
| title = Greek Horoscopes 
| last1 = Neugebauer  | first1 = Otto
| last2 = van&nbsp;Hoesen | first2 = H.B.
| date = 1987
| pages = 1, 159, 163
| publisher = American Philosophical Society | isbn = 978-0-8357-0314-7
}}</ref> The modern Sun symbol, a circle with a dot (☉), first appeared in Europe in the Renaissance.<ref name=neugebauer-1987/>

<gallery>
File:Sun symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png|The symbol for the Sun in late Classical (4th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) manuscripts<ref name=jones-1999/>
File:Moon symbol (medieval ms).png|The symbol for the Moon in a medieval Byzantine manuscript (11th c.). The late Classical appearance was similar.<ref name=jones-1999/>
</gallery>

In modern academic writing, the Sun symbol is used for astronomical constants relating to the Sun.<ref>{{cite book
| last1 = Green  | first1 = Simon F.
| last2 = Jones | first2 = Mark H. 
| last3 = Burnell | first3 = S. Jocelyn
| date = 2004
| title = An Introduction to the Sun and Stars
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| page = 8
}}</ref> <var>T</var><sub>eff☉</sub> represents the solar [[effective temperature]], and the luminosity, mass, and radius of stars are often represented using the corresponding solar constants ({{Solar luminosity}}, {{Solar mass}}, and {{Solar radius}}, respectively) as [[units of measurement]].<ref name="goswami">{{cite book
| last = Goswami | first = Aruna
| date = 2010
| title = Principles and Perspectives in Cosmochemistry: Lecture notes of the Kodai School on ''Synthesis of Elements in Stars'' held at Kodaikanal Observatory, India, April 29 – May 13, 2008
| pages = 4–5
}}</ref><ref name="gray-2005">
 {{cite book
  | last = Gray  | first = David F. 
  | date = 2005
  | title = The Observation and Analysis of Stellar Photospheres
  | publisher = Cambridge University Press
  | page = 505
 }}</ref><ref name="salaris-2005">{{cite book
  | last1 = Salaris | first1 = Maurizio 
  | last2 = Cassisi | first2 = Santi 
  | title = Evolution of Stars and Stellar Populations
  | date = 2005 
  | publisher = John Wiley and Sons
  | page = [https://archive.org/details/evolutionofstars0000sala/page/351 351]
  | url = https://archive.org/details/evolutionofstars0000sala
  | url-access = registration
  }}</ref><ref name="tielens-2005">
 {{cite book
  | last = Tielens  | first = A.G.G.M. 
  | date = 2005
  | title = The Physics and Chemistry of the Interstellar Medium
  | publisher = Cambridge University Press
  | page = xi
 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable skin-invert-image" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Sun
|-
! scope="col" | Referent !! scope="col" | Symbol !! scope="col" | [[Unicode]]<br />code&nbsp;point !! scope="col" | Browser<br />display !! scope="col" | Represents
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=3| [[Sun]]
| align="center" | [[File:Sun symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Sol]]<br /><ref name=cox/><ref name=hilton/>
| U+2609<br />{{small|(dec 9737)}}
| {{resize|200%|☉&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Solar symbol|Standard astronomical symbol]] 
|-
| align="center" | [[File:Sun symbol (medieval).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Sol]]<br /><ref name=neugebauer-1987/>
| U+1F71A<br />{{small|(dec 128794)}}
| {{resize|200%|🜚&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Solar symbol|the Sun with one ray]]
|-
| align="center" | [[File:Sun with face.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Sun with face]]<br /><ref name=frey>{{cite book
| last = Frey | first = A.
| date = 1857
| title = Nouveau manuel complet de typographie contenant les principes théoriques et pratiques de cet art
| publisher = Librairie encyclopédique de Roret  |language=FR
| page = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Tq_DT8yrnn4C/page/n86 379]
| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Tq_DT8yrnn4C
}}</ref><ref name=ephemerides-1774>{{cite book
| title = Éphémérides des mouvemens célestes
| trans-title=Ephemeridies of Celestial Positions
| date = 1774
| page = xxxiv |language=fr
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gJAAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR34
}}</ref>
| U+1F31E<br />{{small|(dec 127774)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌞︎&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" | the face of the Sun or "[[Sun (heraldry)|Sun in splendor]]"
|}

{| class="wikitable skin-invert-image" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Moon and [[lunar phases]]<ref>''The American Practical Navigator'', chapter 13, 'Navigational Astronomy'</ref>
|-
! scope="col" | Referent !! scope="col" | Symbol !! scope="col" | Unicode<br />code&nbsp;point !! scope="col" | Browser<br />text display<ref name=text>Text display is forced by appending U+FE0E to the character. Emojis are forced by appending U+FE0F.</ref> !! scope="col" | Represents
|-
| rowspan=2|[[Moon]]
| align="center" | [[File:Moon crescent symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Crescent moon]]<br /><ref name=penny-cyclopaedia/><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=putnam>{{cite book
| title = The essence of astronomy: things every one should know about the sun, moon, and stars 
| last = Putnam  | first = Edmund Whitman
| date = 1914
| publisher = G.P. Putnam's sons
| page = [https://archive.org/details/essenceastronom00putgoog/page/n251 197]
| url = https://archive.org/details/essenceastronom00putgoog
}}</ref>
| U+263D<br />{{small|(dec 9789)}}
| {{resize|200%|☽︎}}
| style="text-align: left;" | an increscent (waxing) moon<br />(as viewed from the northern hemisphere)
|-
| align="center" | [[File:Moon decrescent symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Decrescent Moon]]<br /><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=putnam/>
| U+263E<br />{{small|(dec 9790)}}
| {{resize|200%|☾}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a decrescent (waning) moon<br />(as viewed from the northern hemisphere)

|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2| [[new moon]]
| align="center" | [[File:New moon symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|New Moon]]<br /><ref name=encyclopedia-americana /><ref name=putnam/>
| U+1F311<br />{{small|(dec 127761)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌑&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" rowspan=2| fully dark
|-
| align="center" | [[File:New moon with face.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|New Moon with face]]<br /><ref name=frey/><ref name=gotha-158/><ref name=hachette-1908/>
| U+1F31A<br />{{small|(dec 127770)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌚&#xFE0E;}}

|-
| waxing crescent
| align="center" | [[File:Waxing crescent moon (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| U+1F312<br />{{small|(dec 127762)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌒&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" | encrescent moon (northern hemisphere)

|-
| rowspan=2| first-quarter (waxing) moon
| align="center" | [[File:First quarter moon symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|First-quarter moon]]
| U+1F313<br />{{small|(dec 127763)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌓&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" rowspan=2| one week into the month, half the visible [[Lunar pareidolia|face]] illuminated
|-
| align="center" | [[File:First-quarter moon with face.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|First-quarter moon with face]]<br /><ref name=maynard>Jim Maynard, Celestial Calendars</ref> or [[File:Crescent moon with face (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Crescent/quarter moon with face]]<br /><ref name=frey/><ref name=gotha-158>{{cite book
| title = Almanach de Gotha
| date = 1852
| volume = 158  | page = ii
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=P4nluPY9-P8C&pg=RA1-PR2
}}</ref><ref name=hachette-1908>{{cite book
| title = Almanach Hachette
| date = 1908
| page = 8
| publisher = Hachette
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wi4bAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA8
}}</ref>
| U+1F31B<br />{{small|(dec 127771)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌛︎&#xFE0E;}}

|-
| waxing gibbous
| align="center" | [[File:Waxing gibbous moon (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| U+1F314<br />{{small|(dec 127764)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌔&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" | (northern hemisphere)

|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2| [[full moon]]
| align="center" | [[File:Full moon symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Full Moon]]<br /><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=putnam/>
| U+1F315<br />{{small|(dec 127765)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌕&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" rowspan=2|fully illuminated
|-
| align="center" | [[File:Full moon with face.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Full Moon with face]]<br /><ref name=frey/><ref name=gotha-158/><ref name=hachette-1908/>
| U+1F31D<br />{{small|(dec 127773)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌝︎&#xFE0E;}}

|-
| waning gibbous
| align="center" | [[File:Waning gibbous moon (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| U+1F316<br />{{small|(dec 127766)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌖&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" | (northern hemisphere)

|-
| rowspan=2|last-quarter (waning) moon
| align="center" | [[File:Last quarter moon symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Last-quarter moon]]
| U+1F317<br />{{small|(dec 127767)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌗&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" rowspan=2| final week of the month, the other half of the visible face illuminated
|-
| align="center" | [[File:Last-quarter moon with face.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Last-quarter moon with face]]<br /><ref name=maynard/> or {{nowrap|[[File:Decrescent moon with face (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Decrescent/quarter Moon with face]][[File:Decrescent moon with face (fixed width, black).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Dark decrescent/quarter Moon with face]]}}<br /><ref name=frey/><ref name=gotha-158/><ref name=hachette-1908/>
| U+1F31C<br />{{small|(dec 127772)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌜︎&#xFE0E;}}

|-
| waning crescent
| align="center" | [[File:Waning crescent moon (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| U+1F318<br />{{small|(dec 127768)}}
| {{resize|200%|🌘&#xFE0E;}}
| style="text-align: left;" | decrescent moon (northern hemisphere)

|}

== Planets ==
{{main|Planet symbols}}
[[File:F4.v. zodiac circle with planets - NLW MS 735C.png|thumb|Medieval depiction of the [[zodiac]] and the [[classical planets]]. The planets are represented by seven faces.]]
 
Symbols for the [[classical planet]]s appear in many medieval [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] codices in which many ancient horoscopes were preserved.<ref name=neugebauer-1975>
{{cite book
| last = Neugebauer  | first = Otto
| date = 1975
| title = A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy
| pages = 788–789
| isbn = 978-0-387-06995-1
}}</ref> The written symbols for [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], [[Venus]], [[Jupiter]], and [[Saturn]] have been traced to forms found in late Greek papyrus texts.<ref name=jones-1999>{{cite book
| last = Jones  | first = Alexander
| date = 1999
| title = Astronomical Papyri from Oxyrhynchus
| pages = 62–63
| publisher = American Philosophical Society
| isbn = 978-0-87169-233-7
}}
</ref> The symbols for Jupiter and Saturn are identified as [[monogram]]s of the corresponding Greek names, and the symbol for Mercury is a stylized [[caduceus]].<ref name=jones-1999/> According to [[Annie Scott Dill Maunder|A.S.D. Maunder]], antecedents of the planetary symbols were used in art to represent the gods associated with the classical planets; ''Bianchini's [[planisphere]]'', discovered by Francesco Bianchini in the 18th century, produced in the 2nd&nbsp;century,<ref name=imss>
{{cite web
| title = Bianchini's planisphere
| publisher = Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza [Institute and Museum of the History of Science]
| location = Florence, Italy
| url = https://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/galileopalazzostrozzi/object/BianchinisPlanisphere.html
| access-date = August 20, 2018 | url-status=live
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227062732/https://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/galileopalazzostrozzi/object/BianchinisPlanisphere.html 
| archive-date=February 27, 2018 
}}
</ref> shows Greek personifications of planetary gods charged with early versions of the planetary symbols: Mercury has a [[caduceus]]; Venus has, attached to her necklace, a cord connected to another necklace; [[Mars]], a spear; Jupiter, a staff; Saturn, a scythe; the [[Sun]], a [[circlet]] with rays radiating from it; and the Moon, a headdress with a crescent attached.<ref name=maunder>
{{cite magazine
| last = Maunder  | first = A.S.D.
| date = 1934
| title = The origin of the symbols of the planets
| magazine = The Observatory
| volume = 57 | pages = 238–247
| bibcode = 1934Obs....57..238M
}}
</ref>

A diagram in Byzantine astronomer Johannes Kamateros's 12th century ''Compendium of Astrology'' shows the Sun represented by the circle with a ray, Jupiter by the letter [[Zeta]] (the initial of [[Zeus]], Jupiter's counterpart in [[Greek mythology]]), Mars by a shield crossed by a spear, and the remaining classical planets by symbols resembling the modern ones, without the cross-mark at the bottom of the modern versions of the symbols for Mercury and Venus. These cross-marks first appear around the 16th&nbsp;century. According to Maunder, the addition of crosses appears to be "an attempt to give a savour of Christianity to the symbols of the old pagan gods."<ref name=maunder/>

<gallery>
File:Mercury symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png|The symbol for Mercury in late Classical (4th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) manuscripts<ref name=jones-1999/>
File:Venus symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png|The symbol for Venus in late Classical (4th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) manuscripts<ref name=jones-1999/>
File:Mars symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png|The symbol for Mars in late Classical (6th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) manuscripts<ref name=jones-1999/>
File:Jupiter symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png|The symbol for Jupiter in late Classical (4th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) manuscripts<ref name=jones-1999/>
File:Saturn symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png|The symbol for Saturn in late Classical (4th & 5th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) manuscripts &ndash; cf. kappa-rho, {{angbr|[[κ]][[ρ]]}}<ref name=jones-1999/>
</gallery>

The symbols for [[Uranus]] were created shortly after its discovery. One symbol, [[File:Uranus symbol (fixed width).svg|class=skin-invert|16px|Uranus]], invented by [[Johann Gottfried Koehler|J. G. Köhler]] and refined by [[Johann Elert Bode|Bode]], was intended to represent the newly discovered metal [[platinum]]; since platinum, commonly called white gold, was found by chemists mixed with iron, the symbol for platinum combines the alchemical symbols for the planetary elements [[iron]], ♂, and [[gold]], ☉.<ref name=bode-uranus>
{{cite book
| last = Bode  | first = J.E.
| date = 1784
| title = Von dem neu entdeckten Planeten
| trans-title = On the newly discovered planets
| publisher = Beim Verfaszer
| bibcode = 1784vdne.book.....B
| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ZqA5AAAAcAAJ
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ZqA5AAAAcAAJ/page/n98 95]–96
}}</ref><ref name=gould-uranus>{{cite book
| last = Gould | first = B. A.
| date = 1850
| title = Report on the history of the discovery of Neptune
| publisher = Smithsonian Institution
| page = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_uyANAQAAIAAJ/page/n8 5]
| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_uyANAQAAIAAJ
}}
</ref> 
Another symbol, [[File:Uranus H symbol (fixed width).svg|class=skin-invert|16px|Uranus]], was suggested by Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande in 1784. In a letter to [[William Herschel]], Lalande described it as ''"un globe surmonté par la première lettre de votre nom"'' (''"a globe surmounted by the first letter of your name"'').<ref name=Francisca>
{{cite magazine
 |first=Francisca |last=Herschel
 |date=1917
 |title=The meaning of the symbol H+o for the planet Uranus
 |magazine=The Observatory
 |volume=40 |pages=306
 |bibcode=1917Obs....40..306H
}}
</ref> Today, Köhler's symbol is more common among astronomers, and Lalande's among astrologers, although it is not uncommon to see each symbol in the other context.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Deborah |last2=Iancu |first2=Laurențiu |last3=Sargent |first3=Murray |date=Aug 14, 2019 |title=Proposal to Encode the Astronomical Symbol for Uranus |url=http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2009/09300-uranus.pdf |website=[[Unicode]] |access-date=October 9, 2021 |archive-date=August 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823223512/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2009/09300-uranus.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several symbols were proposed for [[Neptune]] to accompany the suggested names for the planet. Claiming the right to name his discovery, [[Urbain Le Verrier]] originally proposed the name ''Neptune''<ref name="littmann-standish">
{{cite book
 | first1 = Mark     |last1 = Littmann
 | first2 = Standish |last2 = E.M.
 | date=2004 
 | title = Planets Beyond: Discovering the Outer Solar System
 | page=50
 | publisher=Courier Dover Publications
 |isbn=978-0-486-43602-9
}}
</ref> and the symbol of a [[trident]],<ref name="pillans">
{{cite journal
 | last = Pillans | first = James
 | date= 1847
 | title = Ueber den Namen des neuen Planeten
 | trans-title = On the names of the new planets
 | journal = Astronomische Nachrichten
 | volume = 25 | issue = 26 | pages = 389–392
 | doi = 10.1002/asna.18470252602 | bibcode=1847AN.....25..389.
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yOAzAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA389
| url-access = subscription
 }}</ref> while falsely stating that this had been officially approved by the French [[Bureau des Longitudes]].<ref name="littmann-standish"/> In October, he sought to name the planet ''Leverrier'', after himself, and he had loyal support in this from the observatory director, [[François Arago]],<ref name="baum-sheehan">
{{cite book
 | last1=Baum   |first1=Richard
 | last2=Sheehan |first2=William
 | date=2003
 | title=In Search of Planet Vulcan: The Ghost in Newton's Clockwork Universe
 | pages=109–110
 | publisher=Basic Books
 |isbn=978-0-7382-0889-3
}}
</ref> who in turn proposed a new symbol for the planet ([[File:Neptune monogram (fixed width).svg|class=skin-invert|16px|proposed symbol for planet Leverrier]]).<ref name=an-25/> However, this suggestion met with stiff resistance outside [[France]].<ref name=baum-sheehan/> French almanacs quickly reintroduced the name ''Herschel'' for ''Uranus'', after that planet's discoverer Sir [[William Herschel]], and ''Leverrier'' for the new planet.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |last=Gingerich |first=Owen
 |date=1958
 |title=The Naming of Uranus and Neptune
 |journal=Leaflet of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
 |publisher=Astronomical Society of the Pacific
 |series=Leaflets
 |volume=8 |issue=352 |pages=9–15
 |bibcode=1958ASPL....8....9G
}}
</ref> Professor [[James Pillans]] of the [[University of Edinburgh]] defended the name ''[[Janus]]'' for the new planet, and proposed a key for its symbol.<ref name="pillans"/> Meanwhile, [[Germans in Russia|German-Russian]] [[astronomer]] [[Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve]]<!--- (1793–1864), or maybe his son Otto Wilhelm von&nbsp;Struve (1819–1905) ---> presented the name ''Neptune'' on December 29, 1846, to the [[Russian Academy of Sciences|Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences]].<ref>{{cite journal
 |last=Hind
 |first=J.R.
 |date=1847
 |title=Second report of proceedings in the Cambridge Observatory relating to the new Planet (Neptune)
 |journal=Astronomische Nachrichten
 |volume=25
 |issue=21
 |pages=309–314
 |doi=10.1002/asna.18470252102
 |bibcode=1847AN.....25..309.
 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1424623
 |access-date=July 5, 2019
 |archive-date=September 29, 2021
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929080353/https://zenodo.org/record/1424623
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> In August&nbsp;1847, the Bureau des Longitudes announced its decision to follow prevailing astronomical practice and adopt the choice of ''Neptune'', with Arago refraining from participating in this decision.<ref name="connaissance-des-temps">
{{cite book
 | title = Connaissance des temps: ou des mouvementes célestes, à l'usage des astronomes
 | date = 1847
 | page = unnumbered front matter
 | publisher = Bureau des Longitudes | place = France |language=fr
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5q03AAAAMAAJ&pg=PP9
}}
</ref>

The [[International Astronomical Union]] discourages the use of these symbols in journal articles, though they do occur.<ref>E.g. p. 10, fig. 3 in Chen & Kipping (2017) [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1603.08614.pdf Probabilistic Forecasting of the Masses and Radii of Other Worlds] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925084154/https://arxiv.org/pdf/1603.08614.pdf |date=September 25, 2021 }}, ''The Astrophysical Journal'', 834: 1.</ref> In certain cases where planetary symbols might be used, such as in the headings of tables, the ''IAU Style Manual'' permits certain one- and (to disambiguate Mercury and Mars) two-letter abbreviations for the names of the planets.<ref name=iau-style-manual>
{{cite book
 | title = The IAU Style Manual
 | date = 1989
 | page = 27
 | publisher=The International Astrophysical Union
 | url = https://www.iau.org/static/publications/stylemanual1989.pdf
 | access-date = August 20, 2018  | url-status=live
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621194133/https://www.iau.org/static/publications/stylemanual1989.pdf 
 | archive-date=June 21, 2018 
}}
</ref>

:{| class="wikitable skin-invert-image" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Planets
|-
! scope="col" | Planet !! scope="col" | IAU<br />abbreviation !! scope="col" | Symbol !! scope="col" | Unicode<br />code&nbsp;point !! scope="col" | Browser<br />display !! scope="col" | Represents
|-
| scope="row" | [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]
| H, Me
| align=center | [[File:Mercury symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Mercury]]<br /><ref name=cox>
{{cite book
 | last = Cox | first = Arthur
 | date = 2001
 | title = Allen's Astrophysical Quantities
 | page = 2
 | publisher = Springer
 | isbn = 978-0-387-95189-8
}}
</ref><ref name=high-school-astronomy>
{{cite book
 | last = Mattison | first = Hiram
 | date = 1872
 | title = High-School Astronomy
 | pages = 32–36
 | publisher = Sheldon & Co.
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XksAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA32
}}
</ref>
| U+263F<br />{{small|(dec 9791)}}
| {{resize|200%|[[☿]]}}
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]]'s [[caduceus]], with a cross<ref name=jones-1999/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[Venus]]
| V
| align=center | [[File:Venus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Venus]]<br /><ref name=cox/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
| U+2640<br />{{small|(dec 9792)}}
| {{resize|200%|[[Venus symbol|♀]]}}
| style="text-align: left;" | Perhaps [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]'s necklace or a (copper) hand mirror, with a cross<ref name=penny-cyclopaedia/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="2" | [[Earth]]
| rowspan="2" | E
| align=center | [[File:Earth symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Earth]]<br /><ref name=cox/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
| U+1F728<br />{{small|(dec 128808)}}
| {{resize|200%|[[Earth symbol|🜨]]}}
| style="text-align: left;" | the [[four quadrants of the world]], divided by the four rivers descending from [[Garden of Eden|Eden]]<ref>Unicode characters with a similar shape: <br />:U+2295 ⊕ CIRCLED PLUS; <br />:U+2A01 ⨁ N-ARY CIRCLED PLUS OPERATOR; U+1F310 🌐︎ GLOBE WITH MERIDIANS</ref>{{efn|This symbol has been reinterpretated as the [[four continents]] (north: Europe, east: Asia, south: Africa, west: America), and in such cases may be modified to [[File:Part of Fortune symbol.svg|class=skin-invert|Earth]]. A less common variant is [[File:Salt symbol (alchemical).svg|class=skin-invert]], now obsolete.<ref>"Solar System", in ''The English Cyclopaedia of Arts and Sciences'', vol. VII-VIII, 1861</ref>}}
|-
| align=center | [[File:Globus cruciger (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Earth]]<br /><ref name=cox/><ref name=penny-cyclopaedia>
{{cite book
 | publisher = C. Knight
 | date = 1842
 | title = The Penny cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
 | volume = 22  | page = 197
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rJhOFg1yiqUC&pg=PA197
}}
</ref><ref name=encyclopedia-americana>
{{cite book
 | title = The Encyclopedia Americana: A library of universal knowledge
 | date = 1920
 | volume = 26 | pages = 162–163
 | publisher = Encyclopedia Americana Corp.
 | url = https://archive.org/stream/encyclopediaame01unkngoog#page/n202/mode/2up
 | access-date = March 24, 2011
}}
</ref>
| U+2641<br />{{small|(dec 9793)}}
| {{resize|200%|♁}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a [[globus cruciger]]
|-
| scope="row" | [[Mars]]
| M, Ma
| align=center | [[File:Mars symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Mars]]<br /><ref name=cox/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
| U+2642<br />{{small|(dec 9794)}}
| {{resize|200%|[[Mars symbol|♂]]}}
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]]'s shield and spear<ref name=penny-cyclopaedia/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[Jupiter]]
| J
| align=center | [[File:Jupiter symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Jupiter]]<br /><ref name=cox/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
| U+2643<br />{{small|(dec 9795)}}
| {{resize|200%|[[♃]]}}
| style="text-align: left;" | the letter ''[[Zeta]]'' with an abbreviation stroke (for ''Zeus'', the [[Interpretatio graeca|Greek equivalent]] to the Roman god Jupiter)<ref name=jones-1999/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[Saturn]]
| S
| align=center | [[File:Saturn symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Saturn]]<br /><ref name=cox/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
| U+2644<br />{{small|(dec 9796)}}
| {{resize|200%|[[♄]]}}
| style="text-align: left;" | the letters ''[[kappa]]-[[rho]]'' with an abbreviation stroke (for ''Kronos'', the [[Interpretatio graeca|Greek equivalent]] to the Roman god Saturn), with a cross<ref name=jones-1999/>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2| [[Uranus]]
|rowspan=2| U
|align=center| [[File:Uranus platinum symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Uranus]]<br /><ref name=bode-uranus/><ref name=gould-uranus/>
| U+26E2<br />{{small|(dec 9954)}}
| {{resize|200%|[[⛢]]}}
| style="text-align: left;" | symbol of the recently described element [[platinum]], which was invented to provide a symbol for Uranus<ref name=bode-uranus/><ref name=gould-uranus/>
|-
| align=center | [[File:Uranus Herschel symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Uranus]]<br /><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=putnam/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
| U+2645<br />{{small|(dec 9797)}}
| {{resize|200%|♅}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a globe surmounted by the letter ''H'' (for [[Sir William Herschel|Herschel]], who discovered Uranus)<ref name=Francisca /><br />(more common in older or British literature)
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2|[[Neptune]]
| rowspan=2|N
| align=center | [[File:Neptune symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Neptune]]<br /><ref name=cox/><ref name=putnam/>
| U+2646<br />{{small|(dec 9798)}}
| {{resize|200%|[[♆]]}}
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune's]] [[trident]]
|-
| align=center | [[File:Neptune monogram (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Neptune (alternate symbol)]]<br /><ref name=an-25>
{{cite journal
 | last = Schumacher | first = H.C.
 | date = 1846
 | title = Name des Neuen Planeten
 | trans-title=Name for the new planet |language=de
 | journal = Astronomische Nachrichten
 | volume = 25 | issue = 6 | pages = 81–82
 | bibcode = 1846AN.....25...81L | doi = 10.1002/asna.18470250603
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wlc_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA81
| url-access = subscription
 }}
</ref><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
| U+2BC9<br />{{small|(dec 11209)}}
| {{resize|200%|⯉}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a globe surmounted by the letters "L" and "V", (for [[Le Verrier]], who discovered Neptune)<ref name=an-25 /><ref name=high-school-astronomy/><br />(more common in older, especially French, literature)
|}

==Asteroids==
[[File:Asteroid symbols (1864).png|thumb|Asteroid symbols as listed in ''Webster's Dictionary'' in 1864. All but the first 4 were already obsolete by this time. ("[[32 Pomona|Pomona]]" is a mistake for "[[26 Proserpina|Proserpina]]".)<ref name=astunicode/>]]
Following the discovery of [[Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres]] in 1801 by the astronomer and [[Catholic]] priest [[Giuseppe Piazzi]], a group of astronomers ratified the name, which Piazzi had proposed. At that time, the sickle was chosen as a symbol of the planet.<ref name=bode-1801>{{cite book
| editor-last = Bode
| editor-first = J.E.
| date = 1801
| title = Berliner astronomisches Jahrbuch führ das Jahr 1804
| trans-title = The Berlin Astronomical Yearbook for 1804
| pages = 97–98
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6GElAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA98
| access-date = August 17, 2018
| archive-date = December 14, 2023
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231214145307/https://books.google.com/books?id=6GElAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA98#v=onepage&q&f=false
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

The symbol for [[2 Pallas]], the spear of [[Athena|Pallas Athena]], was invented by Baron [[Franz Xaver von Zach]], who organized a group of twenty-four astronomers to search for a planet between the orbits of [[Mars]] and [[Jupiter]]. The symbol was introduced by von Zach in 1802.<ref name=mcbeh-v6>{{cite web
 |last=von&nbsp;Zach |first=Franz Xaver
 |year=1802
 |title=Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde
 |trans-title=Monthly correspondence for furthering Earth and Space Sciences [journal]
 |volume=6 |pages=95–96
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nR04AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA95
}}</ref>
In a letter to von&nbsp;Zach, discoverer [[Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers]] (who had discovered and named Pallas) expressed his approval of the proposed symbol, but wished that the handle of the sickle of Ceres had been adorned with a pommel instead of a crossbar, to better differentiate it from the sign of Venus.<ref name=mcbeh-v6 />

<gallery>
file:Ceres and Pallas symbols, 1802.png|Symbols for Ceres and Pallas, as rendered in 1802
file:3 Juno symbol (1804).png|Symbol for Juno, as rendered in 1804 with the available type sorts of an asterisk * and a rotated [[dagger (mark)|dagger]] †
File:Vesta symbol, 1807.png|Symbol for Vesta, as rendered in 1807
</gallery>

German astronomer [[Karl Ludwig Harding]] created the symbol for [[3 Juno]]. Harding, who discovered this asteroid in 1804, proposed the name [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] and the use of a scepter topped with a star as its astronomical symbol.<ref name=mcbeh-v10>{{cite book
| last = von&nbsp;Zach | first = Franz Xaver
| date = 1804
| title = Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde
| trans-title=Monthly correspondence for furthering Earth and Space Sciences [journal] 
| volume = 10 | page = 471 |language=de
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vnIEAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA471
}}</ref>

The symbol for [[4 Vesta]] was invented by German mathematician [[Carl Friedrich Gauss]]. Olbers, having previously discovered and named 2 Pallas, gave Gauss the honor of naming his newest discovery. Gauss decided to name the new asteroid for the goddess [[Vesta (mythology)|Vesta]], and also designed the symbol ([[File:Vesta symbol (original, fixed width).svg|18px|class=skin-invert|Vesta]]): the altar of the goddess, with the [[Sacred fire of Vesta|sacred fire]] burning on it.<ref name=mcbeh-v15>{{cite book
| last = von&nbsp;Zach  | first = Franz Xaver
| date = 1807
| title = Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde
| trans-title=Monthly correspondence for furthering Earth and Space Sciences [journal] 
| volume = 15 | page = 507 |language=de
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_Rw4AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA507
}}</ref><ref name=effemeridi-1809>{{cite book
| last = Carlini | first = Francesco
| date = 1808
| title = Effemeridi astronomiche di Milano per l'anno 1809
| trans-title=Astronomical Ephemeridies of Milan for the Year 1809 |language=it
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LPMNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA100
}}</ref><ref name="faulks">{{cite web
 | last = Faulks | first = David 
 | date = May 9, 2006
 | title = Proposal to add some Western Astrology Symbols to the UCS
 | page = 4
 | url = https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06171-astroprop.pdf
 | access-date = November 20, 2017 | url-status=live
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615214658/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06171-astroprop.pdf
 | archive-date=June 15, 2018
 | quote = In general, only the signs for Vesta have enough variance to be regarded as different designs. However, all of these Vesta symbols ... are differing designs for "the hearth and flame of the temple of the Goddess Vesta" in Rome, and can thus be regarded as extreme variants of a single symbol.
}}</ref> Other contemporaneous writers use a more elaborate symbol ([[File:Vesta symbol (old elaborate).svg|class=skin-invert|18px|Vesta]][[File:Vesta symbol (old elaborate 2).svg|class=skin-invert|18px|Vesta]]) instead.<ref name=annuaire-1808>{{cite book
| title = Annuaire pour l'an 1808
| trans-title = Almanac for the Year 1808  |language=fr
| publisher = Bureau des longitudes
| place = France
| date = 1807
| page = 5
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_GM_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA373
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
| last1 = Canovai   | first1 = Stanislao
| last2 = del-Ricco | first2 = Gaetano
| date = 1810
| title = Elementi di fisica matematica
| trans-title= Elements of Mathematical Physics |language=it
| page = 149
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ig85AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA149
}}</ref>

[[Karl Ludwig Hencke]], a German [[amateur astronomer]], discovered the next two asteroids, [[5 Astraea]] (in 1845) and [[6 Hebe]] (in 1847). Hencke requested that the symbol for 5&nbsp;Astraea be an upside-down anchor;<ref name=berlin-1845>
{{cite book
| title = Bericht über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin
| date = 1845
| page = 406
| publisher = Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin; Königlich Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZM8DAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA406
| quote = Der Planet hat mit Einwilligung des Entdeckers den Namen Astraea erhalten, und sein Zeichen wird nach dem Wunsche des Hr.&nbsp;Hencke ein umgekehrter Anker ''[symbol pictured]'' sein.
}}</ref> however, a [[weighing scale]] was sometimes used instead.<ref name=hilton/><ref name=schmadel/> Gauss named 6&nbsp;Hebe at Hencke's request, and chose a [[Hebe (mythology)|wineglass]] as the symbol.<ref name=wudfagw-1947>{{cite book
| title = Wöchentliche Unterhaltungen für Dilettanten und Freunde der Astronomie, Geographie und Witterungskunde
| trans-title = Weekly entertainments for Enthusiasts and Friends of Astronomy, Geography, and Meteorology
| date = 1847
| page = 315
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9AcFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA315
}}</ref><ref name=steger>{{cite book
| last = Steger | first = Franz
| date = 1847
| title = Ergänzungs-conversationslexikon
| trans-title=Supplementary Conversational Lexicon |language=de
| volume = 3  | page = 442
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aZyhQWSEjhoC&pg=PA442
| quote = Hofrath Gauß gab auf Hencke's Ansuchen diesem neuen Planetoiden den Namen Hebe mit dem Zeichen (ein Weinglas).
}}</ref>

As more new asteroids were discovered, astronomers continued to assign symbols to them. Thus, [[7 Iris]] (discovered 1847) had for its symbol a rainbow with a star;<ref name=ras-v8>{{cite journal
| title = Report of the Council to the Twenty-eighth Annual General Meeting
| date = 1848
| journal = Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| volume = 8 | issue = 4 | page = 82
| bibcode = 1848MNRAS...8...82. | doi = 10.1093/mnras/8.4.57  | doi-access = free
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GOA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA82
| quote = The symbol adopted for [Iris] is a semicircle to represent the rainbow, with an interior star and a base line for the horizon. ... The symbol adopted for [Flora's] designation is the figure of a flower.
| url-access = subscription
}}</ref> [[8 Flora]] (discovered 1847), a flower;<ref name=ras-v8/> [[9 Metis]] (discovered 1848), an eye with a star;<ref name=ras-v8-metis>
{{cite journal
| title = Extract of a letter from Mr.&nbsp;Graham
| date = 1848
| journal = Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| volume = 8 | page = 147
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GOA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA147
| quote = I trust, therefore, that astronomers will adopt this name [viz. Metis], with an eye and star for symbol.
}}</ref> [[10 Hygiea]] (discovered 1849), an upright snake with a star on its head;<ref name=ras-v11>{{cite journal
| last = de&nbsp;Gasparis | first = Annibale
| date = 1850
| title = Letter to Mr.&nbsp;Hind, from Professor Annibale de Gasparis
| journal = Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| volume = 11 | page = 1
| doi=10.1093/mnras/11.1.1a  | doi-access = free | bibcode = 1850MNRAS..11....1D
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_uw3AAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA1
| quote = The symbol of Hygeia is a serpent (like a Greek ''ζ'') crowned with a star. That of Parthenope is a fish crowned with a star.
}}</ref> [[11 Parthenope]] (discovered 1850), a standing fish with a star;<ref name=ras-v11/> [[12 Victoria]] (discovered 1850), a star topped with a branch of [[Laurus nobilis|laurel]];<ref name=ras-v11-victoria>{{cite journal
| last = Hind | first = J.R.
| date = 1850
| title = Letter from Mr.&nbsp;Hind
| journal = Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| volume = 11 | page = 2
| bibcode = 1850MNRAS..11....2H | doi = 10.1093/mnras/11.1.2  | doi-access = free
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=87cRAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA2
| quote = I have called the new planet Victoria, for which I have devised, as a symbol, a star and laurel branch, emblematic of the goddess of Victory.
}}</ref> [[13 Egeria]] (discovered 1850), a buckler;<ref name=academie-v32>{{cite journal
| title = Correspondance
| date = 1851
| journal = Comptes Rendus des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences
| volume = 32 | page = 224
| publisher = Académie des Sciences | place = France
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eXcbAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA244
| quote = M.&nbsp;de&nbsp;Gasparis adresse ses remerciments à l'Académie, qui lui a décerné, dans la séance solennelle du 16&nbsp;décembre 1850, deux des médailles de la fondation Lalande, pour la découverte des planètes Hygie, Parthénope et Egérie. M. d&nbsp;Gasparis annonce qu'il a choisi, pour symbole de cette dernière planète, la figure d'un bouclier.
}}</ref> [[14 Irene]] (discovered 1851), a dove carrying an olive branch with a star on its head;<ref name=ras-v11-irene>{{cite journal
| last = Hind  | first = J.R.
| date = 1851
| title = On the discovery of a fourth new planet, at Mr.&nbsp;Bishop's observatory, Regent's Park
| journal = Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| volume = 11 | issue = 8 | page = 171
| doi = 10.1093/mnras/11.8.170a
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=87cRAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA171
| quote = Sir John Herschel, who kindly undertook the selection of a name for this, the fourteenth member of the ultra-zodiacal group, has suggested Irene as one suitable to the present time, the symbol to be a dove carrying an olive-branch with a star on the head; and since the announcement of this name, I have been gratified in receiving from all quarters the most unqualified expressions of approbation.
| doi-access = free
}}</ref> [[15 Eunomia]] (discovered 1851), a heart topped with a star;<ref name=an-eunomia>{{cite journal
| last = de&nbsp;Gasparis | first = Annibale
| date = 1851
| title = Beobachtungen und Elemente der Eunomia
| trans-title = Observations and elements for Eunomia
| journal = Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume=33 | issue = 11 | page = 174
| doi = 10.1002/asna.18520331107 | bibcode=1851AN.....33..173D
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D6EEAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA2-PA174
| quote = J'ai proposé le nom ''Eunomia'' pour la nouvelle planète. Le symbole serait un coeur surmonté d'une étoile. |language=fr
}}</ref> [[16 Psyche]] (discovered 1852), a butterfly wing with a star;<ref name=an-34-psyche>{{cite journal
| last = Sonntag | first = A.
| date = 1852
| title = Elemente und Ephemeride der Psyche
| trans-title = Elements and ephemeridies for Psyche |language=de
| journal = Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume = 34 | issue = 20 | pages = 283–286
| doi = 10.1002/asna.18520342010 | bibcode=1852AN.....34..283.
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fWM_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA283
| quote = ''(in a footnote)'' Herr Professor de&nbsp;Gasparis schreibt mir, in Bezug auf den von ihm März&nbsp;17 entdeckten neuen Planeten: "J'ai proposé, avec l'approbation de Mr. Hind, le nom de Psyché pour la nouvelle planète, ayant pour symbole une aile de papillon surmontée d'une étoile."
| url-access = subscription
}}</ref> [[17 Thetis]] (discovered 1852), a dolphin with a star;<ref name=an-34-thetis>{{cite journal
| last = Luther | first = R.
| date = 1852
| title = Beobachtungen der Thetis auf der Bilker Sternwarte
| trans-title = Observations of Thetis at the Bilker observatory  |language=de
| journal = Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume = 34 | issue = 16 | pages = 243–244
| doi = 10.1002/asna.18520341606
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fWM_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA243
| quote = Herr Director Argelander in Bonn, welcher der hiesigen Sternwarte schon seit längerer Zeit seinen Schutz und Beistand zu Theil werden lässt, hat die Entdeckung des April-Planeten zuerst constatirt und mir bei dieser Gelegenheit dafür den Namen Thetis und das Zeichen ''[symbol pictured]'' vorgeschlagen, wodurch der der silberfüssigen Göttinn geheiligte Delphin angedeutet wird. Indem ich mich hiermit einverstanden erkläre, ersuche ich die sämmtlichen Herren Astronomen, diesen Namen und dieses Zeichen annehmen und beibehalten zu wollen.
}}</ref> [[18 Melpomene]] (discovered 1852), a [[Melpomene|dagger]] over a star;<ref name=hind>{{cite book
| last = Hind | first = J.R.
| date = 1852
| pages = v–vi
| title = An Astronomical Vocabulary
| url = https://archive.org/details/anastronomicalv00hindgoog
}}</ref> and [[19 Fortuna]] (discovered 1852), a star over [[Rota Fortunae|Fortuna's wheel]].<ref name=hind />{{efn|John Brocklesby's ''Elements of Astronomy'' (1855 edition) contains unusual symbols for 19 Fortuna (similar to Astraea's inverted anchor) and [[20 Massalia]] (an anchor) not attested anywhere else on p. 14, but they do not appear in the detailed asteroid profiles on p. 235<ref>{{cite book |last=Brocklesby |first=John |date=1855 |title=Elements of Astronomy |location=New York |publisher=Farmer, Brace & Co |pages=[https://archive.org/details/elementsastrono01brocgoog/page/n24 14]–15, 235}}</ref> and were removed from the 1857 edition, suggesting that they were mistakes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brocklesby |first=John |date=1857 |title=Elements of Astronomy |location=New York |publisher=Farmer, Brace & Co |pages=14–15, 235}}</ref>}}

In most cases the discovery reports only describe the symbols and do not draw them; from Hygiea onward, there are significant glyph variants as well as a significant delay between the discovery and the symbols having been communicated to the astronomical community as a whole.<ref name=encke/><ref name=schumacher/> Consequently, astronomical publications were not always complete.<ref name=astunicode/> The discovery reports for Melpomene<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hind |first1=J. R. |date=1852 |title=Melpomene |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=12 |issue=8 |pages=194–199 |doi=10.1093/mnras/12.8.194|doi-access=free }}</ref> and Fortuna<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hind |first1=J. R. |date=1852 |title=Fortuna |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=12 |issue=8 |pages=192–194 |doi=10.1093/mnras/12.8.192|doi-access=free }}</ref> do not even describe the symbols, which only appear in a later reference work by the discoverer;<ref name=hind/> the symbols are drawn in the reports for Astraea,<ref name=berlin-1845/> Hebe,<ref name=wudfagw-1947/> and Thetis.<ref name=an-34-thetis/> [[Benjamin Apthorp Gould]] criticised the symbols in 1852 as being often inefficient at suggesting the bodies they represented and difficult to draw, and pointed out that the symbol that had been described for Irene had to his knowledge never actually been drawn.<ref name=gould>{{cite journal |last1=Gould |first1=B. A. |date=1852 |title=On the symbolic notation of the asteroids |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=2 |issue=34 |pages=80 |doi= 10.1086/100212|bibcode=1852AJ......2...80G}}</ref> The same year, [[John Russell Hind]] expressed the contrary view that the symbols were easier to remember than the numbers, but also admitted that the names were more commonly used than either the numbers or the symbols.<ref name=hind/>

The last edition of the [[Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch]] (BAJ, Berlin Astronomical Yearbook) to use asteroid symbols was for the year 1853, published in 1850: although it includes eleven asteroids up to Parthenope, it only includes symbols for the first nine (up to Metis), noting that the symbols for Hygiea and Parthenope had not yet been made definitively known.<ref name=encke>{{cite book |editor=Johann Franz Encke |date=1850 |title=Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch für 1853 |page=viii |isbn= |quote=Die Zeichen von Hygiea und Parthenope sind noch nicht so definitiv bekannt gemacht, dass sie hier aufgeführt werden könnten. Die neu endeckte Victoria kommt in diesem Bande noch nicht vor.}}</ref> The last edition of the British ''The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris'' to include asteroid ephemerides was that for 1855, published in 1852: despite fifteen asteroids being known (up to Eunomia), symbols are only included for the first nine.<ref>{{cite book |last= |first= |author-link= |date=1852 |title=The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris for the Year 1855 |url= |location= |publisher= |page=xiv |isbn=}}</ref>

[[Johann Franz Encke]] made a major change in the BAJ for the year 1854, published in 1851. He introduced encircled numbers instead of symbols, although his numbering began with [[5 Astraea|Astraea]], the first four asteroids continuing to be denoted by their traditional symbols.<ref name=hilton/> This symbolic innovation was adopted very quickly by the astronomical community. The following year (1852), Astraea's number was bumped up to 5, but Ceres through Vesta were not listed by their numbers until the 1867&nbsp;edition.<ref name=hilton/> The ''Astronomical Journal'' edited by Gould adopted the symbolism in this form, with Ceres at 1 and Astraea at 5.<ref name=gould/> This form had previously been proposed in an 1850 letter by [[Heinrich Christian Schumacher]] to Gauss.<ref name=schumacher>{{cite book |last1=Gauss |first1=Carl Friedrich |last2=Schumacher |first2=Heinrich Christian |editor1-last=Peters |editor1-first=Christian Friedrich August |author-link= |date=1865 |title=Briefwechsel zwischen C. F. Gauss und H. C. Schumacher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qfqBd2XS9VQC&dq=parthenope+hygiea+zeichen&pg=PA115 |location= |publisher= |page=115 |isbn= |language=de |quote=Wenn noch mehrere von dieser Planetenfamilie entdeckt werden, so möchte es am Ende schwer halten, neue geeignete Zeichen aufzufinden, auch kann man doch eigentlich nicht von einem Atronomen verlangen, dass er Blumen- und Figurenzeichner seyn soll. Ich glaube es wäre weit bequemer, alle mit einem Kreise, der die Ordnungszahl ihrer Endeckung enthält, zu bezeichnen: Ceres mit ① Victoria mit ⑫ u. s. w. Man kommt dann nie in Verlegenheit. Es mögen so viele, wie man will, entdeckt werden, das Zeichen ist im voraus bestimmt. Alle diese Zeichen sind leicht zu schreiben, und sehen im Drucke gut aus, auch zeigt der letzte immer wie viele von der Brut da sind. Ich würde, wenn ich nicht einen grossen Abscheu vor allen nicht absolut nothwendigen Neuerungen hätte, den Vorschlag in den A. N. [Astronomische Nachrichten] machen. |access-date=July 8, 2023 |archive-date=October 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007044049/https://books.google.com/books?id=qfqBd2XS9VQC&dq=parthenope+hygiea+zeichen&pg=PA115 |url-status=live }}</ref> The circle later became a pair of parentheses, which were easier to typeset,<ref name=astunicode/> and the parentheses were sometimes omitted altogether over the next few decades.<ref name="hilton"/> Thus the iconic asteroid symbols fell out of use; reference works continued giving them for the next few decades, though they often noted them as being obsolete.<ref name=astunicode/>

A few asteroids were given symbols by their discoverers after the encircled-number notation became widespread. [[26 Proserpina]] (discovered 1853), [[28 Bellona]] (discovered 1854), [[35 Leukothea]] (discovered 1855), and [[37 Fides]] (discovered 1855), all discovered by German astronomer [[Karl Theodor Robert Luther|Robert Luther]], were assigned, respectively, a pomegranate with a star inside;<ref name=an-proserpina>{{cite journal
| last = Luther | first = R.
| date = 1853
| title = Beobachtungen des neuesten Planeten auf der Bilker Sternwarte
| journal = Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume = 36 | issue = 24 | pages = 349–350
| doi = 10.1002/asna.18530362403 | bibcode = 1853AN.....36Q.349.
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=o2M_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA349
}}</ref> a whip and spear;<ref name=an-bellona>{{cite journal
| last=Encke | first= J.F.
| date= 1854
| title=Beobachtung der Bellona, nebst Nachrichten über die Bilker Sternwarte
| trans-title=Observation of Bellona and news of the Bilk Observatory
| journal= Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume= 38 | issue=9 | pages=143–144
| doi=10.1002/asna.18540380907 | bibcode = 1854AN.....38..143.
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1mM_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA143
}}</ref> an antique lighthouse;<ref name=an-leukothea>{{cite journal
| last=Rümker | first= G.
| date= 1855
| title=Name und Zeichen des von Herrn R. Luther zu Bilk am 19. April entdeckten Planeten
| trans-title=Name and symbol of the planet discovered by Mr.&nbsp;R. Luther at Bilk on the 19th&nbsp;of&nbsp;April
| journal= Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume= 40 | issue=24 | pages= 373–374
| doi=10.1002/asna.18550402405 | bibcode = 1855AN.....40Q.373L
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_GM_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA59
| url-access= subscription
}}</ref> and a cross.<ref name=an-fides>{{cite journal
| last=Luther | first= R.
| date= 1856
| title=Schreiben des Herrn Dr.&nbsp;R. Luther, Directors der Sternwarte zu Bilk, an den Herausgeber
| trans-title=A letter to the editor, from Dr.&nbsp;R. Luther, Director of the Bilk Observatory
| journal= Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume=42 |issue=7 |pages=107–108
| doi=10.1002/asna.18550420705 | bibcode=1855AN.....42..107L
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1KEEAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA107
}}</ref> These symbols were drawn in the discovery reports. [[29 Amphitrite]] was named and assigned a shell for its symbol by [[George Bishop (astronomer)|George Bishop]], the owner of the observatory where astronomer [[Albert Marth]] discovered it in 1854, though the symbol was not drawn in the discovery report.<ref name=an-amphitrite>{{cite journal
| last = Marth | first = A.
| date = 1854
| title = Elemente und Ephemeride des März&nbsp;1 in London entdeckten Planeten Amphitrite
| trans-title = Elements and ephemeris from the March&nbsp;1st discovery of the planet Amphitrite, from London
| journal = Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume = 38 | issue = 11 | pages = 167–168
| doi = 10.1002/asna.18540381103 | bibcode = 1854AN.....38..167.
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1mM_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA167
}}</ref>

[[File:Psyche insignia.svg|thumb|right|Insignia of the NASA ''Psyche'' mission]]
All these symbols are rare or obsolete in modern astronomy, though NASA has used Ceres' symbol when describing the dwarf planets,<ref name=DP/> and Psyche's symbol may have influenced the design of the insignia for the ''[[Psyche (spacecraft)|Psyche]]'' mission.<ref name=astunicode/> The major use of symbols for minor planets today is by astrologers, who have invented symbols for many more objects, though they sometimes use symbols that differ from the historical symbols for the same bodies.<ref name="L216080"/>

The symbol for [[99942 Apophis]], a [[near-Earth asteroid]] discovered in 2004 that attracted interest when initial observations suggested a significant probability of an Earth impact in 2029 (a possibility since eliminated), is much later. It was designed by Denis Moskowitz, who also designed many of the dwarf-planet symbols, at a time when asteroid symbols had become extremely rare in astronomy. Nonetheless, its inclusion of a star is meant to recall the 19th-century asteroid symbols.<ref name=stardiary/>

===Table===

{| class="wikitable skin-invert-image" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Asteroids
! scope="col" | Asteroid !! scope="col" | Symbol !! scope="col" | Unicode<br />code&nbsp;point !! scope="col" | Browser<br />display
! width=400pt| Represents
|-
| scope="row" | [[Ceres (dwarf planet)|1 Ceres]]
| [[File:Ceres symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|1 Ceres]]<br /><ref name=hilton>{{cite web
| last = Hilton |first=James L. | author-link = James L. Hilton
| date = June 14, 2011
| title = When did the Asteroids become Minor Planets?
| url = http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/minorplanets.php
| access-date = April 24, 2013 | url-status=dead
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810175312/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/minorplanets.php 
| archive-date=August 10, 2018 
}}</ref><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
| U+26B3<br />{{small|(dec 9907)}}
| {{resize|200%|⚳}}
| style="text-align: left;" | A [[scythe]].<ref name=high-school-astronomy/><br /> In some fonts, the symbol for Saturn is the inverse. 
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2| [[2 Pallas|2&nbsp;Pallas]]
| [[File:Pallas symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|2 Pallas]]<br /><ref name=mcbeh-v6/>
| rowspan=2| U+26B4<br />{{small|(dec 9908)}}
| rowspan=2| {{resize|200%|⚴}}
| rowspan=2  style="text-align: left;" | A spear.<ref name=mcbeh-v6/><ref name=schmadel>{{cite book
| last = Schmadel | first = Lutz D.
| date = 2003
| title = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
| publisher = Springer
| pages = 15–18
| isbn = 978-0-354-06174-2
}}</ref> In modern renditions, the spearhead has a broader or narrower diamond shape. In 1802, it was given a [[cordate (leaf shape)|cordate]] leaf shape. A variation has a triangular head, conflating it with the [[alchemical symbol]] for sulfur.
|-
| [[file:Athene symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|2 Pallas]]<br /><ref name=mcbeh-v6/>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2|[[3 Juno|3&nbsp;Juno]]
| [[File:Juno symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|3 Juno]]<br /><ref name=mcbeh-v10/><ref name=chambers>{{cite book
| last = Chambers | first = George Frederick
| date = 1877
| title = A Handbook of Descriptive Astronomy
| location = Oxford
| publisher = Clarendon Press
| edition = 3rd
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/ahandbookdescri00chamgoog/page/n960 920]–921
| url = https://archive.org/details/ahandbookdescri00chamgoog
}}</ref>
| scope="row" rowspan=2| U+26B5<br />{{small|(dec 9909)}}
| scope="row" rowspan=2| {{resize|200%|⚵}}
| style="text-align: left;" rowspan=2 | a scepter topped with a star<ref name=mcbeh-v10/>
|-
| [[File:Juno orb symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|3 Juno]]<br /><ref name=high-school-astronomy/><ref name=olmstead/>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=3|[[4 Vesta|4&nbsp;Vesta]]
| [[File:Vesta symbol (original, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|4 Vesta]]<br /><ref name=mcbeh-v15/>
| rowspan=2 | U+1F777 <br />{{small|(dec 128887)}}
| rowspan=2 | {{resize|200%|🝷}}
| style="text-align: left;" | The temple hearth with the [[sacred fire of Vesta]]. The original form was a box with what looks like the horns of [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]] on top.<ref name=mcbeh-v15/><ref name="faulks"/>
|-
| [[File:Vesta symbol (old elaborate).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|4 Vesta]][[File:Vesta symbol (old elaborate 2).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|4 Vesta]]<br /><ref name=hilton/><ref name=schmadel/><ref name=olmstead>{{cite book
| last = Olmsted  | first = Dennis
| date = 1855
| title = Letters on Astronomy
| publisher = Harper
| page = 288
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BYoXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA288
}}</ref>
| style="text-align: left;" | An early elaborate form is an altar surmounted with a censer holding the sacred fire.<ref name=mcbeh-v15/><ref name="faulks"/>
|-
| [[File:Vesta symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|4 Vesta]]<br /><ref name="faulks"/>
| U+26B6<br />{{small|(dec 9910)}}
| {{resize|200%|⚶}}
| style="text-align: left;" | The modern V-shaped form dates from astrological use in the 1970s; it is an abbreviation of the above.<ref name=mcbeh-v15/><ref name="faulks"/>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2|[[5 Astraea|5&nbsp;Astraea]]
| [[File:Astraea symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|5 Astraea]]<br /><ref name=berlin-1845/><ref name=schmadel/>
| U+1F778 <br />{{small|(dec 128888)}}
| {{resize|200%|🝸}}
| style="text-align: left;" | an inverted anchor<ref name=berlin-1845/><ref>''Österreichischer Universal-Kalender'', 1849, p. xxxix</ref>
|-
| [[File:Astraea scales symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|5 Astraea (alternate symbol)]] [[File:Astraea symbol (scales, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|5 Astraea (alternate symbol)]]<br /><ref name=wilson/>
| U+2696<br />{{small|(dec 9878)}}
| {{resize|200%|⚖}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a weighing scale<ref name=high-school-astronomy/><ref name=schmadel/>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2|[[6 Hebe|6&nbsp;Hebe]]
| [[File:Hebe symbol (simple, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|6 Hebe]]<br /><ref name=wudfagw-1947/><ref name="an610">{{cite journal
| last = Hencke | first = Karl Ludwig
| date = 1847
| title = Schreiben des Herrn Hencke an den Herausgeber
| trans-title= A letter to the editor from Mr.&nbsp;Hencke
| journal = Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume=26 | number = 610 | pages = 155–156
| doi = 10.1002/asna.18480261007
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-qAEAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA4-PA155
| bibcode=1847AN.....26..155H
| url-access = subscription
}}</ref><ref name="austria-1849">{{cite book
| title = Oesterreichischer Universal-Kalender für das gemeine Jahr 1849
| trans-title=Austrian Universal Calendar for the Common Year 1849
| date = 1849
| page = xxxix
| place = Austria
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6H0AAAAAcAAJ&pg=PR39
}}</ref>
| rowspan=2|U+1CEC0<br/>{{small|(dec 118464)}}
| rowspan=2|{{resize|200%|𜻀}}
| style="text-align: left;" rowspan=2| A wineglass. Originally typeset as a triangle ∇ set on a base ⊥.<ref name=wudfagw-1947 /> 
|-
| [[File:Hebe symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|6 Hebe]]<br /><ref name=hilton/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/><ref name=schmadel/>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2|[[7 Iris|7&nbsp;Iris]]
| [[File:Iris symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|7 Iris]]<br /><ref name=hilton/><ref name=high-school-astronomy/>
| rowspan=2|U+1CEC1<br/>{{small|(dec 118465)}}
| rowspan=2|{{resize|200%|𜻁}}
| style="text-align: left;" rowspan=2|a [[Iris (mythology)|rainbow]] with a star inside it<ref name=ras-v8/>
|-
| [[File:Iris symbol (simple, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|7 Iris]]<br /><ref name=ras-v8/><ref name=hind/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[8 Flora|8&nbsp;Flora]]
| [[File:Flora symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] [[File:Flora symbol (simple, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]<br /><ref name=hilton/><ref name=schmadel/>
| U+1CEC2 <br />{{small|(dec 118466)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻂}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a [[Flora (mythology)|flower]]<ref name=ras-v8/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[9 Metis|9&nbsp;Metis]]
| [[File:Metis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|9 Metis]]<br /><ref name=hilton /><ref name=high-school-astronomy/><ref name=schmadel/>
| U+1CEC3 <br />{{small|(dec 118467)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻃}}
| style="text-align: left;" | an eye with a star above it<ref name=ras-v8-metis/>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2|[[10 Hygiea|10&nbsp;Hygiea]]
| [[File:Hygiea symbol (original, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|10 Hygiea]]<br /><ref name=ras-v11/><ref name=hind/>
| U+1F779 <br />{{small|(dec 128889)}}
| {{resize|200%|🝹}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a serpent with a star (from the [[Bowl of Hygiea]] U+1F54F [[File:Bowl of Hygieia (fixed width).svg|24px|alt=🕏]])<ref name=ras-v11/>
|-
| [[File:Rod of Asclepius (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|10 Hygiea]]<br /><ref name=hilton/><ref name=schmadel/>
| U+2695<br />{{small|(dec 9877)}}
| {{resize|200%|⚕}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a [[Rod of Asclepius]]. Cf. the modern astrological symbol U+2BDA [[File:Hygiea symbol (fixed width).svg|24px|10 Hygiea (astrological symbol)|alt=⯚]], a [[caduceus]] (often [[Caduceus as a symbol of medicine|confused with the Rod of Asclepius]])<ref name="L216080">{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16080r-add-astrology.pdf|title=L2/16-080: Additional Symbols for Astrology|date=2016-05-28|first=David|last=Faulks|access-date=October 18, 2021|archive-date=May 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511233510/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16080r-add-astrology.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2|[[11 Parthenope|11&nbsp;Parthenope]]
| [[File:Parthenope symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|11 Parthenope]]<br /><ref name=hilton/><ref name=ras-v11/>
| U+1CEC4 <br />{{small|(dec 118468)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻄}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a fish with a star. This is the original symbol from the brief period when this asteroid was known and astronomers were still using iconic symbols.<ref name=ras-v11/>
|-
| [[File:Lyra symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|11 Parthenope]]<br /><ref name=wilson>{{cite book
| last = Wilson | first = John
| date = 1899
| title = A Treatise on English Punctuation
| publisher = American Book Company
| edition = Thirty-Second
| page = [https://archive.org/details/atreatiseonengl08wilsgoog/page/n319 302]
| url = https://archive.org/details/atreatiseonengl08wilsgoog
}}</ref>
| U+1F77A <br />{{small|(dec 128890)}}
| {{resize|200%|🝺}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a [[lyre]]. This symbol only appears in later 19th-century reference works that appeared when iconic symbols for asteroids had already become obsolete.<ref name=astunicode>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2023/23207-historical-asteroids.pdf |title=Unicode request for historical asteroid symbols |last1=Bala |first1=Gavin Jared |last2=Miller |first2=Kirk |date=18 September 2023 |website=unicode.org |publisher=Unicode |access-date=26 September 2023 |quote= |archive-date=September 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926074401/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2023/23207-historical-asteroids.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2 | [[12 Victoria|12&nbsp;Victoria]]
| [[File:Victoria symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|12 Victoria]]<br /><ref name=hilton/><ref name=schmadel/>
| rowspan=2 | U+1CEC5 <br />{{small|(dec 118469)}}
| rowspan=2 | {{resize|200%|𜻅}}
| style="text-align: left;" rowspan=2 | a star with a branch of laurel<ref name=ras-v11-victoria/>
|-
| [[File:Victoria symbol (simple, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|12 Victoria]]<br /><ref name=webster/>
|-
| scope="row" rowspan=2 | [[13 Egeria|13&nbsp;Egeria]]
| [[File:Egeria symbol (original, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]<br /><ref name=webster/>
| rowspan=2 | U+1CEC6 <br />{{small|(dec 118470)}}
| rowspan=2 | {{resize|200%|𜻆}}
| style="text-align: left;" rowspan=2 | a buckler<ref name=academie-v32/>
|-
| [[File:Egeria symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|13 Egeria]]<br /><ref name=hind/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[14 Irene|14&nbsp;Irene]]
| [[File:Irene symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|14 Irene]]<br /><ref name=wilson/>
| U+1CEC7 <br />{{small|(dec 118471)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻇}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a dove carrying an olive-branch in its mouth and a star on its head<ref name=ras-v11-irene/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[15 Eunomia|15&nbsp;Eunomia]]
| [[File:Eunomia symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|15 Eunomia]]<br /><ref name=hilton/><ref name=schmadel/>
| U+1CEC8 <br />{{small|(dec 118472)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻈}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a heart with a star on top<ref name=an-eunomia/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[16 Psyche|16&nbsp;Psyche]]
| [[File:Psyche symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|16 Psyche]]<br /><ref name=hind/>
| U+1CEC9 <br />{{small|(dec 118473)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻉}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a butterfly's wing and a star<ref name=an-34-psyche/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[17 Thetis|17&nbsp;Thetis]]
| [[File:Thetis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]<br /><ref name=an-34-thetis/>
| U+1CECA <br />{{small|(dec 118474)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻊}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a dolphin and a star<ref name=an-34-thetis/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[18 Melpomene|18&nbsp;Melpomene]]
| [[File:Melpomene symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|18 Melpomene]]<br /><ref name=hind/>
| U+1CECB <br />{{small|(dec 118475)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻋}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a dagger over a star<ref name=hind/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[19 Fortuna|19&nbsp;Fortuna]]
| [[File:Fortuna symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|19 Fortuna]]<br /><ref name=hind/>
| U+1CECC <br />{{small|(dec 118476)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻌}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a star over a wheel<ref name=hind/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[26 Proserpina|26&nbsp;Proserpina]]
| [[File:Proserpina symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|26 Proserpina]]<br /><ref name=an-proserpina/>
| U+1CECD <br />{{small|(dec 118477)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻍}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a pomegranate with a star inside it<ref name=an-proserpina/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[28 Bellona|28&nbsp;Bellona]]
| [[File:Bellona symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|28 Bellona]]<br /><ref name=an-bellona/>
| U+1CECE <br />{{small|(dec 118478)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻎}}
| style="text-align: left;" | Bellona's whip / morning star and spear<ref name=an-bellona/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[29 Amphitrite|29&nbsp;Amphitrite]]
| [[File:Amphitrite symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|29 Amphitrite]]<br /><ref name=webster>
{{cite book
| last1 = Webster  |first1=Noah
| last2 = Goodrich |first2=Chauncey Allen
| date = 1864
| title = Webster's Complete Dictionary of the English Language
| page = 1,692
| url = https://archive.org/details/drwebsterscomple00unse/page/1692/mode/2up
}}
</ref>
| U+1CECF <br />{{small|(dec 118479)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻏}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a "shell".<ref name=an-amphitrite/> There is no mention of a star in the original description, but the only 19th-century drawing of the symbol includes one.<ref name=astunicode/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[35 Leukothea|35&nbsp;Leukothea]]
| [[File:Leukothea symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|35 Leukothea]]<br /><ref name=an-leukothea/>
| U+1CED0 <br />{{small|(dec 118480)}}
| {{resize|200%|𜻐}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a ''[[Lighthouse of Alexandria|pharos]]'' (ancient lighthouse)<ref name=an-leukothea/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[37 Fides|37&nbsp;Fides]]
| [[File:Fides symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|37 Fides]]<br /><ref name=an-fides/>
| U+271D<br />{{small|(dec 10013)}}
| {{resize|200%|✝}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a [[Latin cross]]<ref name=an-fides/><ref name=webster/>
|-
| scope="row" | [[99942 Apophis|99942&nbsp;Apophis]]
| [[File:Apophis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|99942 Apophis]]<br /><ref name=stardiary/>
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a stylised depiction of the Egyptian god [[Apep]], with a star<ref name=stardiary/>
|}

==Trans-Neptunian objects ==
[[Pluto]]'s name and symbol were announced by the discoverers on May 1, 1930.<ref name=popular-astronomy>{{cite magazine
| last = Slipher
| first = V.M.
| date = 1930
| title = The trans-Neptunian planet
| magazine = Popular Astronomy
| volume = 38
| page = 415
| url = http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-journal_query?volume=38&plate_select=NO&page=415&plate=&cover=&journal=PA...
| access-date = March 18, 2010
| archive-date = December 11, 2021
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211211143952/https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-journal_query?volume=38&plate_select=NO&page=415&plate=&cover=&journal=PA...
| url-status = live
}}</ref> 
The symbol, a [[monogram]] of the letters PL, could be interpreted to stand for Pluto or for [[Percival Lowell]], the astronomer who initiated [[Lowell Observatory]]'s search for a planet beyond the orbit of Neptune. Pluto has an alternative symbol consisting of an orb over Pluto's [[bident]]: it is more common in astrology than astronomy, and was popularised by the astrologer [[Paul Clancy]],<ref name=astrologicalpluto>{{cite web |last1=Faulks |first1=David |title=Astrological Plutos |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16067r-astrological-plutos.pdf |website=www.unicode.org |publisher=Unicode |access-date=1 October 2021 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112010819/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16067r-astrological-plutos.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> but has been used by NASA to refer to Pluto as a ''dwarf'' planet.<ref name=DP/> There are a few other astrological symbols for Pluto that are used locally.<ref name=astrologicalpluto/> Pluto also had the IAU abbreviation P when it was considered the ninth planet.<ref name=iau-style-manual/>

The other large trans-Neptunian objects were only discovered around the dawn of the 21st century. They were not generally thought to be planets on their discovery, and planetary symbols had in any case mostly fallen out of use among astronomers by then. Denis Moskowitz, a software engineer in Massachusetts,<ref name=anderson/> proposed astronomical symbols for the [[dwarf planet]]s Quaoar, Sedna, Orcus, Haumea, Eris, Makemake, and Gonggong.<ref name=DPU/><ref name=anderson/> These symbols are somewhat standard among astrologers (e.g. in the program [[Astrolog]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astrolog.org/astrolog/astdwarf.htm |title=Dwarf Planets |last=Pullen |first=Walter D. |date=18 September 2021 |website=astrolog.org |access-date=7 October 2021 |quote= |archive-date=October 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019162534/https://www.astrolog.org/astrolog/astdwarf.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> which is where planetary symbols are most used today. Moskowitz has also proposed symbols for [[20000 Varuna|Varuna]], [[28978 Ixion|Ixion]], and [[120347 Salacia|Salacia]], and others have done so for additional TNOs, but there is little consistency between sources.<ref name=DPU>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21224-dwarf-planet-syms.pdf|title=Unicode request for dwarf-planet symbols|last=Miller|first=Kirk|date=26 October 2021|website=unicode.org|access-date=October 28, 2021|archive-date=March 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323174107/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21224-dwarf-planet-syms.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

NASA has used Moskowitz's symbols for Haumea, Makemake, and Eris in an astronomical context, and Unicode labels the symbols for Haumea, Makemake, Gonggong, Quaoar, and Orcus (added to Unicode in 2022) as "astronomy symbols".<ref name=anderson>{{cite web |url=http://blog.unicode.org/2022/05/out-of-this-world-new-astronomy-symbols.html |title=Out of this World: New Astronomy Symbols Approved for the Unicode Standard |last=Anderson |first=Deborah |date=4 May 2022 |website=unicode.org |publisher=The Unicode Consortium |access-date=6 August 2022 |archive-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806075352/http://blog.unicode.org/2022/05/out-of-this-world-new-astronomy-symbols.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable skin-invert-image" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Trans-Neptunian objects
|- 
! scope="col" | Object !! scope="col" | Symbol !! scope="col" | Unicode<br />code&nbsp;point !! scope="col" | Browser<br />display !! scope="col" | Represents
|-
|[[50000 Quaoar]]
|[[File:Quaoar symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Quaoar]]<br /><ref name=DPU/>
| U+1F77E <br />{{small|(dec 128894)}}
| {{resize|200%|🝾}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a Q for Quaoar with the tail fashioned as a canoe, stylised to resemble the angular rock art of the [[Tongva]]<ref name=DPU/>
|-
|[[90377 Sedna]]
|[[File:Sedna symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Sedna]]<br /><ref name=DPU/>
| U+2BF2<br />{{small|(dec 11250)}}
| {{resize|200%|⯲}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a monogram of the [[Inuktitut syllabics]] ᓴ ''sa'' and ᓐ ''n'', as Sedna's Inuit name is ᓴᓐᓇ ''Sanna''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16173-eris-sedna.pdf|title=Eris and Sedna Symbols|last=Faulks|first=David|date=June 12, 2016|website=unicode.org|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170508160706/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16173-eris-sedna.pdf|archive-date=May 8, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|[[90482 Orcus]]
|[[File:Orcus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Orcus]]<br /><ref name=DPU/>
| U+1F77F <br />{{small|(dec 128895)}}
| {{resize|200%|🝿}}
| style="text-align: left;" | an O-R monogram for '''Or'''cus, stylised to resemble a skull and an [[orca]]'s grin<ref name=DPU/>
|-
| rowspan=2 scope="row" | [[Pluto|134340 Pluto]]
| [[File:Pluto monogram (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Pluto]]<br /><ref name=cox/>
| U+2647<br />{{small|(dec 9799)}}
| {{resize|200%|♇}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a P-L monogram for '''Pl'''uto and [[Percival Lowell]]
|-
| [[File:Pluto symbol (large orb, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Pluto]]<br /><ref name=DP>{{cite web |url= https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/what-is-a-dwarf-planet |author= JPL/NASA |date= April 22, 2015 |website= Jet Propulsion Laboratory |title= What is a Dwarf Planet? |access-date= 2021-09-24 |archive-date= January 22, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220122073622/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/what-is-a-dwarf-planet |url-status= live }}</ref>
| U+2BD3<br />{{small|(dec 11219)}}
| {{resize|200%|⯓}}
| style="text-align: left;" | a cap or planetary orb over Pluto's [[bident]]
|-
|[[Haumea|136108 Haumea]]
|[[File:Haumea symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Haumea]]<br /><ref name=DP/> 
| U+1F77B <br />{{small|(dec 128891)}}
| {{resize|200%|🝻}}
| style="text-align: left;" | conflation of Hawaiian petroglyphs for woman and birth, as [[Haumea (mythology)|Haumea]] was the goddess of both<ref name=DPU/>
|-
| [[Eris (dwarf planet)|136199 Eris]]
| [[File:Eris symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Eris]]<br /><ref name=DP/> 
| U+2BF0<br />{{small|(dec 11248)}}
| {{resize|200%|⯰}} 
| style="text-align: left;" | the [[Hand of Eris]], a traditional symbol from [[Discordianism]] (a religion worshipping the goddess Eris)<ref name=faulks/>
|-
|[[Makemake|136472 Makemake]]
|[[File:Makemake symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Makemake]]<br /><ref name=DP/> 
| U+1F77C <br />{{small|(dec 128892)}}
| {{resize|200%|🝼}}
| style="text-align: left;" | engraved face of the Rapa Nui god [[Makemake (deity)|Makemake]], also resembling an M<ref name=DPU/><ref>Compare the symbol of the Maza cryptocurrency of the Oglala Sioux, which has a similar 'M' shape.</ref>
|-
|[[225088 Gonggong]]
|[[File:Gonggong symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Gonggong]]<br /><ref name=DPU/> 
| U+1F77D <br />{{small|(dec 128893)}}
| {{resize|200%|🝽}}
| style="text-align: left;" | Chinese character 共 ''gòng'' (the first character in Gonggong's name), combined with a snake's tail<ref name=DPU/>
|}

== Zodiac and other constellations ==
[[File:Nuremberg chronicles f 11r 2.png|thumb|right|A late-15th-century manuscript with the zodiac symbols]]
[[File:12 houses of heaven.jpg|thumb|right|A mid-18th-century manuscript with symbols for the zodiac and planets. Note the distinctive shapes of Virgo (6), Scorpius (8), Capricornus (10) and Aquarius (11).]]

The zodiac symbols have several astronomical interpretations. Depending on context, a zodiac symbol may denote either a constellation, or a point or interval on the ecliptic plane.

Lists of astronomical phenomena published by almanacs sometimes included conjunctions of stars and planets or the Moon; rather than print the full name of the star, a Greek letter and the symbol for the constellation of the star was sometimes used instead.<ref name=naae-1833>
{{cite book
 | title = The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris for the Year 1833
 | year = 1831
 | page = 1
 | publisher = The Board of Admiralty 
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3fMNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1
}}
</ref><ref name=american-almanac>
{{cite book
 | title = The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge, for the Year 1835
 | year = 1834
 | page = 47
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=P3QFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA47
}}
</ref>
The ecliptic was sometimes divided into 12&nbsp;''signs'', each subdivided into 30&nbsp;degrees,<ref name=britannica-1823>
{{cite book
 | title = Encyclopædia Britannica
 | year = 1823
 | edition = 6 | volume = 3 | page = 155
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=a8QnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA155
 | quote = ...&nbsp;observe, that 60&nbsp;seconds make a minute, 60&nbsp;minutes make a degree, 30&nbsp;degrees make a sign, and 12&nbsp;signs make a circle.
}}
</ref><ref name=joyce>
{{cite book
 | last = Joyce | first = Jeremiah
 | year = 1866
 | title = Scientific Dialogues for the Instruction and Entertainment of Young People
 | location = London
 | publisher = Bell and Daldy
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/scientificdialo01joycgoog/page/n129 109]
 | url = https://archive.org/details/scientificdialo01joycgoog
}}
</ref>
and the ''sign'' component of ecliptic longitude was expressed either with a number from 0 to 11.<ref name=naae-1834-signs>
{{cite book
 | title = The Nautical Almanac and the Astronomical Ephemeris for the year 1834
 | date = 1833
 | page = xiii
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Bf8NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR13
}} 
The 1834 edition of the ''Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris'' abandoned the use of numerical signs (among other innovations); compare the representation of (ecliptic) longitude in the editions for the years [https://books.google.com/books?id=Bf8NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA4 1834] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=3fMNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA2 1833].

</ref> or with the corresponding zodiacal symbol.<ref name=joyce/>

In modern astronomical writing, all the constellations, including the 12 of the zodiac, have dedicated three-letter abbreviations, which specifically refer to ''constellations'' rather than ''signs''.<ref name=iau-style-manual-constellations>
{{cite book
 | title = The IAU Style Manual
 | year = 1989
 | page = 34
 | publisher = The [[International Astronomical Union]] (IAU)
 | url = https://www.iau.org/static/publications/stylemanual1989.pdf
 | url-status=live | access-date=August 20, 2018
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621194133/https://www.iau.org/static/publications/stylemanual1989.pdf 
 | archive-date=June 21, 2018 
}}
</ref>
The zodiac symbols are also sometimes used to represent points on the ecliptic, particularly the solstices and equinoxes. Each symbol is taken to represent the "first point" of each ''sign'', rather than the place in the visible ''constellation'' where the alignment is observed.<ref name=roy>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Roy    | first1 = Archie E.
 | last2 = David  | first2 = Clarke
 | year = 2003
 | title = Astronomy: Principles and practice 
 | page = 73
 | publisher = Taylor & Francis
 | isbn = 978-0-7503-0917-2
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=v2S6XV8dsIAC&pg=PA73
}} 
</ref><ref name=king-hele>
{{cite book
 | last = King-Hele | first = Desmond 
 | year = 1992 
 | title = A Tapestry of Orbits 
 | page = 16
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press 
 | isbn = 978-0-521-39323-2
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DCpMCSRyj8AC&pg=PA16
}}
</ref>
Thus, ♈︎ the symbol for Aries, represents the [[March equinox]];{{efn|
The [[March equinox]] defines the astrological [[Aries (astrology)|''sign'' of Aries]], and is also used as the point of origin for most modern [[celestial coordinate system]]s. But at present, the equinox actually occurs in the western part of the astronomical [[Pisces (constellation)|''constellation'' Pisces]], near its southern border, and is [[Age of Aquarius|slowly transitioning]] into the [[Aquarius (constellation)|constellation  Aquarius]].
}}
♋︎, for Cancer, the [[June solstice]];{{efn|
The [[June solstice]] is aligned with the sign of [[Cancer (astrology)|Cancer]], but occurs very nearly on the modern border between [[Gemini (constellation)|Gemini]] and [[Taurus (constellation)|Taurus]].
}}
♎︎, for Libra, the [[September equinox]];{{efn|
The [[September equinox]] is aligned with the sign of [[Libra (astrology)|Libra]], but occurs in western [[Virgo (constellation)|Virgo]].
}}
and ♑︎, for Capricorn, the [[December solstice]].{{efn|
The [[December solstice]] is aligned with the sign [[Capricorn (astrology)|Capricorn]], but occurs very nearly on top of the modern border between [[Sagittarius (constellation)|Sagittarius]] and [[Ophiuchus (constellation)|Ophiuchus]].
}}

Although the use of [[astrological sign]] symbols is rare, the particular symbol ♈︎ for Aries, is an exception; it is commonly used in modern astronomy to represent the location of the (slowly) moving reference point for the [[Equatorial coordinate system|ecliptic]] and [[Ecliptic coordinate system|equatorial]] [[celestial coordinate system]]s.

:{| class="wikitable skin-invert-image"  style="text-align: center;"
|+ Zodiacal symbols
|- 
!scope="col"| Constellation
!scope="col"| [[International Astronomical Union|IAU]]<br/>abbreviation
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Astrological<br>location
!scope="col"| Symbol
!scope="col"| Translation
!scope="col"| Unicode<br/>code&nbsp;point
!scope="col"| Browser<br/>display
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]]
| [[Aries (constellation)|Ari]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Aries (astrology)|'''0''']]
| 0°
| [[File:Aries symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Aries]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| ram<ref name=L&S>{{cite book
 |author1=Lewis
 |author2=Short
 |title=A Latin Dictionary
 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph
 |via=[[Tufts University]] [[Perseus Project]]
 |access-date=October 14, 2022
 |archive-date=September 26, 2022
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926185550/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref>
| U+2648<br />{{small|(dec 9800)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♈︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Taurus (constellation)|Taurus]]
| [[Taurus (constellation)|Tau]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Taurus (astrology)|'''1''']]
| 30°
| [[File:Taurus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Taurus]]<br /><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| bull<ref name=L&S/>
| U+2649<br />{{small|(dec 9801)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♉︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Gemini (constellation)|Gemini]]
| [[Gemini (constellation)|Gem]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Gemini (astrology)|'''2''']]
| 60°
| [[File:Gemini symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Gemini]]<br /><ref name=joyce/><ref name="Unicode-2600"/>
| twinned<ref name=L&S/>
| U+264A<br/>{{small|(dec 9802)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♊︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Cancer (constellation)|Cancer]]
| [[Cancer (constellation)|Cnc]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/><br /><ref name=joyce/><ref name="Unicode-2600"/>
| [[Cancer (astrology)|'''3''']]
| 90°
| [[File:Cancer symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Cancer]] [[File:Cancer symbol (straight, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Cancer]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| crab<ref name=L&S/>
| U+264B<br/>{{small|(dec 9803)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♋︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Leo (constellation)|Leo]]
| [[Leo (constellation)|Leo]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Leo (astrology)|'''4''']]
| 120°
| [[File:Leo symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Leo]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| lion<ref name=L&S/>
| U+264C<br/>{{small|(dec 9804)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♌︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Virgo (constellation)|Virgo]]
| [[Virgo (constellation)|Vir]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Virgo (astrology)|'''5''']]
| 150°
| [[File:Virgo symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Virgo]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| maiden<ref name=L&S/>
| U+264D<br/>{{small|(dec 9805)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♍︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Libra (constellation)|Libra]]
| [[Libra (constellation)|Lib]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Libra (astrology)|'''6''']]
| 180°
| [[File:Libra symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Libra]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| scales<ref name=L&S/>
| U+264E<br/>{{small|(dec 9806)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♎︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Scorpius (constellation)|Scorpio]]
| [[Scorpius (constellation)|Sco]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Scorpius (astrology)|'''7''']]
| 210°
| [[File:Scorpius symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Scorpius]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| scorpion<ref name=L&S/>
| U+264F<br/>{{small|(dec 9807)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♏︎ }}
|-
|scope="row"| [[Sagittarius (constellation)|Sagittarius]]
| [[Sagittarius (constellation)|Sgr]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Sagittarius (astrology)|'''8''']]
| 240°
| [[File:Sagittarius symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Sagittarius]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| archer<ref name=L&S/>
| U+2650<br/>{{small|(dec 9808)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♐︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Capricornus (constellation)|Capricorn]]
| [[Capricornus (constellation)|Cap]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Capricornus (astrology)|'''9''']]
| 270°
| [[File:Capricornus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Capricornus]] [[file:Capricornus symbol (European, fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| having a goat's horns<ref name=L&S/>
| U+2651<br/>{{small|(dec 9809)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♑︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Aquarius (constellation)|Aquarius]]
| [[Aquarius (constellation)|Aqr]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Aquarius (astrology)|'''10''']]
| 300°
| [[File:Aquarius symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Aquarius]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| water-carrier<ref name=L&S/>
| U+2652<br/>{{small|(dec 9810)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♒︎ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Pisces (constellation)|Pisces]]
| [[Pisces (constellation)|Psc]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[Pisces (astrology)|'''11''']]
| 330°
| [[File:Pisces symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Pisces]]<br/><ref name=joyce/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| fishes<ref name=L&S/>
| U+2653<br/>{{small|(dec 9811)}}
| {{resize|200%| ♓︎ }}
|}

[[Ophiuchus (astrology)|Ophiuchus]] has been proposed as a thirteenth sign of the zodiac by astrologer [[Walter Berg (astrologer)|Walter Berg]] in 1995, who gave it a symbol that has become popular in Japan.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

:{| class="wikitable skin-invert-image" style="text-align: center;"
|- 
!scope="col"| Constellation
!scope="col"| [[International Astronomical Union|IAU]]<br/>abbreviation
!scope="col"| Symbol
!scope="col"| Translation
!scope="col"| Unicode<br/>code&nbsp;point
!scope="col"| Browser<br/>display
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Ophiuchus (constellation)|Ophiuchus]]
| [[Ophiuchus (constellation)|Oph]]<ref name=iau-style-manual/>
| [[File:Ophiuchus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|Ophiuchus]]<br/><ref name=Unicode-2600/>
| the Serpent-holder<ref name=L&S/>
| U+26CE<br/>{{small|(dec 9934)}}
| {{resize|200%| ⛎︎ }}
|}

None of the constellations have official symbols. However, in addition to the zodiac, occasional symbols for other modern constellations, as well as older constellations that occur in modern nomenclature, have appeared in publication. The symbols below were devised by Denis Moskowitz (except those for the 13 constellations already listed above).<ref name=constellations>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2024/24235-constellation-symbols.pdf |title=Preliminary presentation of constellation symbols |last=Miller |first=Kirk |date=18 October 2024 |website=unicode.org |publisher=The Unicode Consortium |access-date=22 October 2024 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Grego |year=2012 |title=The Star Book: Stargazing throughout the seasons in the northern hemisphere |publisher=F+W Media}}</ref>

{{div col begin|colwidth=12em}}
: [[Andromeda (constellation)|Andromeda]] [[File:Andromeda symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Antlia]] [[File:Antlia symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Apus]] [[File:Apus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Aquarius (constellation)|Aquarius]] [[File:Aquarius symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Aquila (constellation)|Aquila]] [[File:Aquila symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Ara (constellation)|Ara]] [[File:Ara symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Argo Navis]] [[File:Argo Navis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
:: [[Carina (constellation)|Carina]] [[File:Carina symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
:: [[Puppis]] [[File:Puppis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
:: [[Vela (constellation)|Vela]] [[File:Vela symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]] [[File:Aries symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Auriga (constellation)|Auriga]] [[File:Auriga symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Boötes]] [[File:Bootes symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Caelum]] [[File:Caelum symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Camelopardalis]] [[File:Camelopardalis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Cancer (constellation)|Cancer]] [[File:Cancer symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Canes Venatici]] [[File:Canes Venatici symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Canis Major]] [[File:Canis Major symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Canis Minor]] [[File:Canis Minor symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Capricornus]] [[File:Capricornus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Cassiopeia (constellation)|Cassiopeia]] [[File:Cassiopeia symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Centaurus]] [[File:Centaurus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Cepheus (constellation)|Cepheus]] [[File:Cepheus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Cetus (constellation)|Cetus]] [[File:Cetus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Chamaeleon]] [[File:Chamaeleon symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Circinus (constellation)|Circinus]] [[File:Circinus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Columba (constellation)|Columba]] [[File:Columba symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Coma Berenices]] [[File:Coma Berenices symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Corona Australis]] [[File:Corona Australis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Corona Borealis]] [[File:Corona Borealis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Corvus (constellation)|Corvus]] [[File:Corvus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Crater (constellation)|Crater]] [[File:Crater symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Crux]] [[File:Crux symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Cygnus (constellation)|Cygnus]] [[File:Cygnus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Delphinus]] [[File:Delphinus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Dorado]] [[File:Dorado symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Draco (constellation)|Draco]] [[File:Draco symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Equuleus]] [[File:Equuleus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Eridanus (constellation)|Eridanus]] [[File:Eridanus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Fornax]] [[File:Fornax symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Gemini (constellation)|Gemini]] [[File:Gemini symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Grus (constellation)|Grus]] [[File:Grus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Hercules (constellation)|Hercules]] [[File:Hercules symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Horologium (constellation)|Horologium]] [[File:Horologium symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Hydra (constellation)|Hydra]] [[File:Hydra constellation symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Hydrus]] [[File:Hydrus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Indus (constellation)|Indus]] [[File:Indus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Lacerta]] [[File:Lacerta symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Leo (constellation)|Leo]] [[File:Leo symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Leo Minor]] [[File:Leo Minor symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Lepus (constellation)|Lepus]] [[File:Lepus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Libra (constellation)|Libra]] [[File:Libra symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Lupus (constellation)|Lupus]] [[File:Lupus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Lynx (constellation)|Lynx]] [[File:Lynx symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Lyra]] [[File:Lyra symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Mensa (constellation)|Mensa]] [[File:Mensa symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Microscopium]] [[File:Microscopium symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Monoceros (constellation)|Monoceros]] [[File:Monoceros symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Musca]] [[File:Musca symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Norma (constellation)|Norma]] [[File:Norma symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Octans]] [[File:Octans symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Ophiuchus]] [[File:Ophiuchus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]] [[File:Orion symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Pavo (constellation)|Pavo]] [[File:Pavo symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Pegasus (constellation)|Pegasus]] [[File:Pegasus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Perseus (constellation)|Perseus]] [[File:Perseus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Phoenix (constellation)|Phoenix]] [[File:Phoenix symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Pictor]] [[File:Pictor symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Pisces (constellation)|Pisces]] [[File:Pisces symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Piscis Austrinus]] [[File:Piscis Austrinus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Pyxis]] [[File:Pyxis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Quadrans Muralis]] [[File:Quadrans Muralis symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Reticulum]] [[File:Reticulum symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Sagitta]] [[File:Sagitta symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Sagittarius (constellation)|Sagittarius]] [[File:Sagittarius symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Scorpius]] [[File:Scorpius symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Sculptor (constellation)|Sculptor]] [[File:Sculptor symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Scutum (constellation)|Scutum]] [[File:Scutum symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Serpens]] [[File:Serpens symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
:: [[Serpens Cauda]] [[File:Serpens cauda symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
:: [[Serpens Caput]] [[File:Serpens caput symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Sextans]] [[File:Sextans symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Taurus (constellation)|Taurus]] [[File:Taurus symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Telescopium]] [[File:Telescopium symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Triangulum]] [[File:Triangulum symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Triangulum Australe]] [[File:Triangulum Australe symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Tucana]] [[File:Tucana symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Ursa Major]] [[File:Ursa Major symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Ursa Minor]] [[File:Ursa Minor symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Virgo (constellation)|Virgo]] [[File:Virgo symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Volans]] [[File:Volans symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Vulpecula]] [[File:Vulpecula symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
{{div col end}}

== Other ==
Symbols for [[Astrological aspect|aspects]] and [[Orbital node|nodes]] appear in medieval texts, although medieval and modern usage of the node symbols differ; the modern ascending node symbol (☊) formerly stood for the descending node, and the modern descending node symbol (☋) was used for the ascending node.<ref name=neugebauer-1987/> In describing the [[Keplerian elements]] of an orbit, ☊ is sometimes used to denote the [[Ecliptic coordinate system|ecliptic longitude]] of the ascending node, although it is more common to use Ω (capital omega, and inverted ℧), which were originally typographical substitutes for the astronomical symbols.<ref name=covington>{{cite book
| last = Covington | first = Michael A.
| date = 2002
| title = Celestial Objects for Modern Telescopes
| volume = 2 | pages = 77–78
}}</ref>

The symbols for aspects first appear in [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] codices.<ref name="neugebauer-1987"/> Of the symbols for the five [[Astrological aspect#Major aspects|Ptolemaic aspects]], only the three displayed here — for conjunction, opposition, and quadrature — are used in astronomy.<ref name=ridpath>
{{cite book
 | editor-last = Ridpath | editor-first = John Clark
 | year = 1897
 | title = The Standard American Encyclopedia
 | volume = 1 | page = 198
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1GMMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA198
}}
</ref>

Symbols for a comet (☄) and a star ([[File:Astronomical symbol for star.svg|class=skin-invert|16px]]) have been used in published astronomical observations of comets. In tables of these observations, ☄ stood for the comet being discussed and [[File:Astronomical symbol for star.svg|class=skin-invert|16px]] for the star of comparison relative to which measurements of the comet's position were made.<ref name=an-comet-star/>

:{| class="wikitable skin-invert-image" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Other symbols
|- 
!scope="col"| Referent
!scope="col"| Symbol
!scope="col"| Unicode<br/>code&nbsp;point
!scope="col"| Browser<br/>display
|- 
|scope="row"| ascending [[Orbital node|node]]
| [[File:Ascending node (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|ascending node]]<br/><ref name=cox/><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/>
| U+260A<br />{{small|(dec 9738)}}
| {{resize|200%| ☊ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| descending [[Orbital node|node]]
| [[File:Descending node (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|descending node]]<br/><ref name=cox /><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/>
| U+260B<br/>{{small|(dec 9739)}}
| {{resize|200%| ☋ }}
|- 
| scope="row" | [[Conjunction (astronomy and astrology)|conjunction]]
| [[File:Conjunction symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|conjunction]]<br/><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=putnam/>
| U+260C<br/>{{small|(dec 9740)}}
| {{resize|200%| ☌ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[Opposition (astronomy and astrology)|opposition]]
| [[File:Opposition symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|opposition]]<br/><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=putnam/>
| U+260D<br />{{small|(dec 9741)}}
| {{resize|200%| ☍ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[occultation]]
| [[File:Occultation symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|occultation]]<br/><ref name=LFE>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2022/22005-fortune-eclipse.pdf|title=Unicode request for Lot of Fortune and eclipse symbols|last=Miller|first=Kirk|date=23 December 2021|website=unicode.org|access-date=October 18, 2022|archive-date=October 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008030119/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2022/22005-fortune-eclipse.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| U+1F775<br/>{{small|(dec 128885)}}
| {{resize|200%| 🝵 }}
|- 
|scope="row"| a [[lunar eclipse]], <br>or any body in the <br>shadow of another<ref>For example, Io entering Jupiter's shadow, the timing of which enabled [[Rømer]] to calculate the speed of light.</ref> 
| [[File:Lunar eclipse symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|lunar eclipse]]<br/><ref name=LFE/>
| U+1F776<br/>{{small|(dec 128886)}}
| {{resize|200%| 🝶 }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[quadrature (astronomy)|quadrature]]
| [[File:Square symbol.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|quadrature]]<br/><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=putnam/>
| U+25A1, U+25FB<br/>{{small|(dec 9633, 9723)}}
| {{resize|200%| □ }}, {{resize|200%| ◻ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[comet]]
| [[File:Comet symbol (fixed width).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|comet]] [[File:Comet symbol (dotted).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|comet]]<br/><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=webster/><ref name=an-comet-star>
{{cite journal
| last=Tupman  | first=G.L.
| date=1877
| title=Observations of Comet&nbsp;I 1877
| journal=Astronomische Nachrichten
| volume=89 | issue=11 | pages=169–170
| doi=10.1002/asna.18770891103
| bibcode=1877AN.....89..169T
| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=46MEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA169
| access-date=March 24, 2011
}}
</ref>
| U+2604<br/>{{small|(dec 9732)}}
| {{resize|200%| ☄ }}
|- 
|scope="row"| [[star]]
| [[File:Astronomical symbol for star.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|star]]<br/><ref name=encyclopedia-americana/><ref name=webster/><ref name=an-comet-star/>
| (Not designated)
| ([[Star (glyph)|Many possibilities]])
|-
| [[planetary ring]]s<br/>''(rare)''
| [[File:Planetary ring symbol (Kirkhill).svg|frameless|upright=0.15|planetary rings]]<br/><ref>{{cite web |title=Kirkhill Astronomical Pillar |date=23 May 2018 |url=https://i1.wp.com/holeousia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/astronomical-pillar-23-may-2018-13.jpg |url-status=dead <!-- presumed --> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016223329/https://i1.wp.com/holeousia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/astronomical-pillar-23-may-2018-13.jpg |archive-date=2021-10-16}}</ref>
| U+1FA90+FE0E<br/>{{small|(dec 129680)}}
| {{resize|150%| 🪐&#xFE0E;}}
<!--
|-
| [[galaxy]]
| [[file:Galaxy icon.svg|frameless|upright=0.15|spiral galaxy]]
| {{NA}}
| {{NA}}
-->
|}

[[Meteor shower]]s also have limited use of astronomical symbols in the literature, designed by Denis Moskowitz. They are based on the parent constellation symbols, with letters included to disambiguate the Aquariids and Taurids.<ref name=stardiary>{{cite book |first=Alec |last=Finlay |year=2008 |title=One Hundred Year Star-Diary |publisher=Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society}}</ref><ref name=constellations/>

{{div col begin|colwidth=12em}}
: [[Delta Aquariids]] [[File:Delta Aquariid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Eta Aquariids]] [[File:Eta Aquariid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Geminids]] [[File:Geminid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Leonids]] [[File:Leonid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Lyrids]] [[File:Lyrid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Orionids]] [[File:Orionid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Perseids]] [[File:Perseid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Quadrantids]] [[File:Quadrantid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Taurids]] [[File:North Taurid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]][[File:South Taurid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
: [[Ursids]] [[File:Ursid symbol.png|frameless|upright=0.1]]
{{div col end}}

For [[Astronomical transit|planetary transits]] of Mercury and Venus, Moskowitz proposed overlaying the respective planetary symbol on that of the Sun, extending the crossbar into an arrow: [[File:Mercury transit symbol.svg|class=skin-invert|24px]] (Mercury), [[File:Venus transit symbol.svg|class=skin-invert|24px]] (Venus). This also has some limited use.<ref name=stardiary/>

Limited use can also be found of Moskowitz's symbol for [[Halley's Comet]], [[File:Comet Halley symbol (fixed width).svg|class=skin-invert|24px]]: it is simply the standard comet symbol with an H.<ref name=stardiary/>

==See also==
{{Commons category|Astronomical symbols}}
*[[Astrological symbols]]
*[[Alchemical symbol]]s
*[[List of common astronomy symbols]]
*[[Maya calendar]] for the [[logogram]]s used in [[Maya astronomy]]
*[[Solar symbol]]
*[[Zodiac]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist|1}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

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