The International Astronomical Union ( IAU ) latterly ran an incredibly pop assignment movement where 780,000 people worldwide participated in naming exoplanets and host ace as part of the 100th anniversary of the IAU .
The NameExoWorld initiative previously took station in 2015 when31 exoplanetswere give proper names . The IAU wanted to go bigger this twelvemonth and get even more countries involve . A total of 112 countries participated , purport public figure that were then vote on by the general world . Overall , 360,000 names were proposed and each national committee machinate a short list . The make headway name calling rake in a sum of 420,000 balloting .
The IAU has a well - determine set of rules when it come to name and for this project , there were rules refer which stars and planet could be named . All the star named have to be visible with a small scope from the naming country . All the planet were gas colossus weigh between one - tenth and 10 meter the tidy sum of Jupiter . Each country get to name one satellite and its innkeeper lead . The goal was for the unconscious process to be as inclusive and accessible as possible .
“ The IAU is delighted to see the broad international interest that this NameExoWorlds cause has generated , ” IAU President - elect Debra Elmegreen said in astatement . “ It is pander that so many the great unwashed across the globe have helped create a name for a planetary scheme that is meaningful to their culture and inheritance . This effort help unite us all in our exploration of the universe . ”
All the names can be viewed on theNameExoWorld internet site , but we pick a handful from around the world just to give you a smack of what people select to go for .
Azerbaijan named the star assigned to them Mahsati after the famed poet Mahsati Ganjavi ( 1089–1159 ) , She is considered one of the shiny smooth headliner of Azerbaijani poetry . The orbiting planet is nominate Ganja after an ancient city of Azerbaijan , the first capital of the Asian country , and the birthplace of Mahsati .
The Cook Islands chose Poerava as the name of their star , a Maori term for a large mysterious black off-white of utter beauty and perfection . Its satellite is called Pipitea , intend a small white and golden pearl .
Meanwhile , creatures from Malagasy mythology are the choice for Madagascar . Rapeto , a giant creature , is the name of the star and Trimobe , a full-bodied devil , the name of its planet .
Christian and Hellenic mythology merged in Italian literature in the writings of Dante , inspiring the names selected by Italy . The wiz is Flegetonte , one of the four infernal river where the souls of those who committed furiousness against others are intend to moil for eternity . The planet is called Lete , after another mythological river where , according to Dante , the penitent in Purgatory are washed of the memory of sin .
Given that 2019 is theinternational year of endemic languages , the IAU advance people to suggest traditional names . Among those that got involved is Argentina , which take the name Nosaxa for its star and Naqaya for its exoplanet . Respectively , these words mean spring / new twelvemonth and “ all human beings as sibling ” in the Moqoit language .
Over 4,000 exoplanets have been support and the number of discoveries doubles every 30 months . Initiatives like this play exoplanets , some of which are up to 1,600 weak - geezerhood forth , closer to us all .
