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rfmcdonaldCBC's Emily Chung succinctly summarized the ongoing controversy over exoplanet names. To wit.
Universe Today's Nancy Atkinson has written broadly in support of the Uwingu initiative, arguing that it's clear that the names being proposed aren't official names and that the money raised is going towards the cause of getting people involved in space. That may be true, and blogger like Jason Wright do seem correct in pointing out that the International Astronomical Union does not have the final say over exoplanet names in any case.
Even so, I worry whether despite Uwingu's claims people might reasonably believe that names they pick, names that win Internet polls, might be actually be names used by astronomers. People don't give entities names on a whim, not caring if they might not be used. If there's some risk of displacing existing systems of nomenclature, which work perfectly well as is as a more or less systematic naming system providing information on exoplanet locations and discovery patterns (b before found before c and so on), that's an additional concern.
In recent years, hundreds of planets have been confirmed outside our solar system. Most newly discovered ones get a scientific name that includes the star they orbit and some letters or numbers. In many case, the name appears as a string of letters and numbers such as KOI-172 or HD 85512 b.
Uwingu, a non-profit company that raises money for space research and education, launched a contest on March 19 to give a popular name to Alpha Centauri Bb, the closest planet ever discovered outside our solar system, at just about four light years away.
Participants can suggest a name for $4.99 and vote on the existing nominations for $0.99, and nominators will be eligible for prizes if their name gets at least 100 votes.
[. . . O]n Friday, the International Astronomical Union, an organization that organizes scientific meetings for professional astronomers around the world, issued a news release with the headline: "Can one buy the right to name a planet?"
"In the light of recent events, where the possibility of buying the rights to name exoplanets has been advertised, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) wishes to inform the public that such schemes have no bearing on the official naming process," the release said.
The release did not name Uwingu, but mentioned the fact that the public had been invited to "purchase both nomination proposals for exoplanets, and the right to vote for the suggested names" in return for a "certificate commemorating the validity and credibility of the nomination."
Universe Today's Nancy Atkinson has written broadly in support of the Uwingu initiative, arguing that it's clear that the names being proposed aren't official names and that the money raised is going towards the cause of getting people involved in space. That may be true, and blogger like Jason Wright do seem correct in pointing out that the International Astronomical Union does not have the final say over exoplanet names in any case.
Even so, I worry whether despite Uwingu's claims people might reasonably believe that names they pick, names that win Internet polls, might be actually be names used by astronomers. People don't give entities names on a whim, not caring if they might not be used. If there's some risk of displacing existing systems of nomenclature, which work perfectly well as is as a more or less systematic naming system providing information on exoplanet locations and discovery patterns (b before found before c and so on), that's an additional concern.
