science

How to name a planet: Here is YOUR chance to have your name forever among the stars


Space agency estimates there have been nearly 4,000 exoplanet discoveries made to date. Once confirmed by astronomers, these alien worlds need a unique name to distinguish them from the thousands of other planets out there. For the most part, these exoplanets have less than exciting names like HAT-P-50b or HD 1605 c. But a new competition organised by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) could soon change that, opening the floodgates for thrilling name ideas and suggestions.

The IAU100 NameExoWorlds contest is a global competition targeting every single country on the planet.

More than 70 countries, including the UK and US, have already signed up to name a select exoplanet and its host star.

It is then up to each individual nation to organise, collect and select a winning submission before time runs out.

If you wish to participate here in the UK, stay on the lookout for the UK ExoWorld Naming Competition, which will kick off in Autumn 2019.

Professor Robert Walsh of the IAU and chair of the UK ExoWorld Naming Competition, said: “This is a unique opportunity for UK children to give a name to a planet and star.

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“Imagine a planet out there that you have named and will be called that name for all time.

“This competition helps us understand our place in the Universe as we explore together other worlds outside of our own.”

And Debra Elmegreen, IAU President-Elect, said: “This exciting event invites everyone worldwide to think about their collective place in the Universe, while stimulating creativity and global citizenship.

“The Name ExoWorld initiative reminds us that we are all together under one sky.”

The competition is being overseen by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council and the Royal Astronomical Society.

Learn more about the UK contest by clicking here.

How to take part in the planet naming contest?

Between September and October 2019, schools and youth organisations across the country will have a chance to propose their names.

From ‘Planet McPlanetface’ to ‘Endor’ to ‘Vulcan’, the finalists will be chosen by a panel of experts.

The finalists will be selected in October and reduced to a small pool of candidates.

Then in November 2019, a public vote on the finalists will select the winner, which will be announced in December 2019.

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Which planet and star will the UK get to name?

The celestial bodies given to the UK for the contest are the star WASP-13 and the planet WASP-13b.

The exoplanet was first discovered by British astronomers in the year in 2009.

WASP-13b has a radius about 22 percent larger than Jupiter but only weighs a third of the gas giant’s weight.

The planet closely orbits its shore star at a fraction of the distance the Earth orbits the Sun.

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The exoplanet orbits its star so close, it completes a full rotation in just four Earth days.

WASP-13, on the other hand, is a star in the constellation Lynx.

The star appears to be fairly similar to our own Sun in terms of its mass.

But the star is believed to be much older and burns at much hotter temperatures.

Astronomers first observed the star in 1997 and estimate it sit about 505 light-years from Earth.



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