In article ,
eric gisse writes:
Keeping in mind that I am aware that stuff in the sky moves, is there
finally a set way of cataloging things?

Making a catalog is separate from assigning source names. Which do
you want to know about?

Catalogs are maintained these days by data centers such as SIMBAD and
NED. Each data center serves coordinates in a variety of formats,
includng both B1950 and J2000 systems. How they store and update the
data in their internal records is their problem, not mine.

The IAU recommends how to assign source names. A short summary is at
http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/vizier/Dic/how.htx

That URL has a link to the longer recommendations. The most
important rule is that a source name, once assigned, never changes.
This means, for example, that a name based on coordinates will not
change even if the coordinates are later refined or found to be in
error. Of course multiple names can be assigned to a single source
and often are, but in principle any name should refer unambiguously
to a single source. (This rule is, alas, sometimes violated by the
careless or ignorant. "HR 10" is perhaps the most famous example,
though it's usually clear in context which source is meant.)

The standard appears to change wildly every 20 years or so

That's news to me! There are minor updates from time to time, but I
have never seen any changes I'd consider "wild."

On that note, as a tech guy, I think it'd be more advantageous to have a
cataloging system that was static in coordinates but could also include
proper motion

Data centers maintain proper motion information when it's relevant.
How they store the information internally is their problem, but users
can query the data in standardized formats.

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