lpetrich
Contributor
Astronomers Want Your Vote to Help Name 32 Alien Worlds - NBC News -- NameExoWorlds Home Page
To vote, go to NameExoWorlds Voting
Here is some background:
NameExoWorlds Process
They have a lot of rules for names, like
NameExoWorlds List of the ExoWorlds -- all the namable planets and stars in this contest. Some stars already have individual names, so they can't be named: Fomalhaut (Alpha Piscis Austrini), Pollux (Beta Geminorum), Errai (Gamma Cephei), Ain (Epsilon Tauri), Edasich (Iota Draconis).
That page also has notes on the various exoplanets, like Edasich b (Iota Draconis b) having a very eccentric orbit.
To vote, go to NameExoWorlds Voting
Here is some background:
NameExoWorlds Process
- July 2014. They decided on an initial set of 305 "well-characterized" exoplanets belonging to 260 exoplanetary systems, each with 1 to 5 known planets. Each of them had been known for at least 5 years.
- October 2014. Astronomy clubs and the like were invited to get involved in the naming process.
- January 2015. They voted.
- April 2015. The top 20 ExoWorlds were published, with 15 namable stars and 32 namable exoplanets.
- August 2015. The general public invited to vote.
- Early November 2015. Final stages of the contest.
- Mid November 2015. Results to be announced.
They have a lot of rules for names, like
- Non-offensive
- Pronounceable in some language
- <= 16 letters long
- Preferably one word
- Not too similar to some existing name of an astronomical object
- No pets
- No living people
- Nobody or nothing primarily known for political, military, or religious activities
- Nothing commercial
- Nothing copyrighted or trademarked
NameExoWorlds List of the ExoWorlds -- all the namable planets and stars in this contest. Some stars already have individual names, so they can't be named: Fomalhaut (Alpha Piscis Austrini), Pollux (Beta Geminorum), Errai (Gamma Cephei), Ain (Epsilon Tauri), Edasich (Iota Draconis).
That page also has notes on the various exoplanets, like Edasich b (Iota Draconis b) having a very eccentric orbit.
