<p>No, only the Hubble law was recommended to have its name changed (I'm a member of the IAU, so hopefully I'd have known if there were more votings).</p>

<p>However, several astronomers (including myself) found the voting a bit… weird; while acknowledging the work of George Lemaître is admirable, many more people than him and Edwin Hubble contributed to the understanding that the Universe is expanding. So, <a href="https://twitter.com/anisotropela/status/1057200200069140480" rel="nofollow noreferrer">some</a> were joking that we should rename the Law to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesto_Slipher" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Slipher</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Friedmann" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Friedmann</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Wilhelm_Wirtz" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wirtz</a>-<a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knut_Lundmark" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lundmark</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lemaître</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_P._Robertson" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Robertson</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hubble</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_de_Sitter" rel="nofollow noreferrer">de Sitter</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_L._Humason" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Humason</a> law, or something like that.</p>

<p>Others joked that if the Hubble law should be renamed, we should also start referring to "the Hubble-Lemaître Space Telescope", "the Hubble-Lemaître Ultra Deep Field", "the Hubble-Lemaître Bubble", and, as you have seen, "the Hubble-Lemaître constant". Others probably also did this non-jokingly.</p>

<p>Btw., astronomer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Louise_Trimble" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Virginia Trimble</a> wrote a paper six years ago (<a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1307.2289" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Trimble 2013</a>), arguing that we should name the Law after anybody but Hubble…</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-09T19:21:48.597Z
2019-04-09T19:21:48.597Z
pela
<p>The IAU recommends renaming the Hubble <em>law</em> as the Hubble-Lemaître law, as discussed at its General Assembly in 2018 (see this <a href="https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1812/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">press release</a> and the links therein).</p>

<p>I have now stumbled upon an occurrence of "Hubble-Lemaître <em>constant</em>". Are there any recommendations (or noteworthy statements, opinion papers) in favor or against this extended interpretation of the IAU resolution B4 to the terminology for <span class="math-container">$H_0$</span>?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-09T15:22:05.880Z
To the question "Is the IAU recommending that any other “Hubble”-named things change?", the resolution committee just answers "No" (see the provided background information linked from the IAU press release).
mtewes
<history><terminology><hubble-constant><iau>
Are there recommendations to use "Hubble-Lemaître constant" instead of "Hubble constant"?
mtewes
# Are there recommendations to use "Hubble-Lemaître constant" instead of "Hubble constant"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-09)

The IAU recommends renaming the Hubble *law* as the Hubble-Lemaître law, as discussed at its General Assembly in 2018 (see this [press release](https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1812/) and the links therein).

I have now stumbled upon an occurrence of "Hubble-Lemaître *constant*". Are there any recommendations (or noteworthy statements, opinion papers) in favor or against this extended interpretation of the IAU resolution B4 to the terminology for $H\_0$?

**Tags:** history, terminology, hubble-constant, iau

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: To the question "Is the IAU recommending that any other “Hubble”-named things change?", the resolution committee just answers "No" (see the provided background information linked from the IAU press release).  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-04-09. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

No, only the Hubble law was recommended to have its name changed (I'm a member of the IAU, so hopefully I'd have known if there were more votings).

However, several astronomers (including myself) found the voting a bit… weird; while acknowledging the work of George Lemaître is admirable, many more people than him and Edwin Hubble contributed to the understanding that the Universe is expanding. So, [some](https://twitter.com/anisotropela/status/1057200200069140480) were joking that we should rename the Law to the [Slipher](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesto_Slipher)-[Friedmann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Friedmann)-[Wirtz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Wilhelm_Wirtz)-[Lundmark](https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knut_Lundmark)-[Lemaître](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre)-[Robertson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_P._Robertson)-[Hubble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble)-[de Sitter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_de_Sitter)-[Humason](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_L._Humason) law, or something like that.

Others joked that if the Hubble law should be renamed, we should also start referring to "the Hubble-Lemaître Space Telescope", "the Hubble-Lemaître Ultra Deep Field", "the Hubble-Lemaître Bubble", and, as you have seen, "the Hubble-Lemaître constant". Others probably also did this non-jokingly.

Btw., astronomer [Virginia Trimble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Louise_Trimble) wrote a paper six years ago ([Trimble 2013](https://arxiv.org/abs/1307.2289)), arguing that we should name the Law after anybody but Hubble…


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