Queen’s University Belfast: Queen’s astronomers call on public to help name a strange new world

The International Astronomy Union (I.A.U) has kicked off its 2022 NameExoWorlds scheme, which offers countries around the world a chance to name an exoplanet and its host star.

In a bid to propose a winning name, members of the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen’s are calling on the general public to come together on Wednesday 9 November for a public talk, some activities and vote on a shortlisted selection of names for two celestial bodies. The winning name pairing will then be submitted to the I.A.U to potentially become the officially recognised name for the star and planet.

Aaron Monson, a PhD student in the School of Mathematics and Physics at Queen’s comments: “We’ve all heard of the names of planets in our solar system, and even the names of so many fictional ones from science-fiction. This is a unique chance for people in Northern Ireland to help propose a name for a distant star and the alien world that orbits it.

“The names we propose should be significant to the history, culture and folklore of Northern Ireland, so drawing on the thoughts and votes from as many people as possible is best for strengthening the submission.”

He adds: “It’s set to be a fun evening talking about some really cool aspects of the work we do at Queen’s and getting everyone across Northern Ireland involved in an exciting opportunity in STEM.”