Can Anyone Pay To Name An Exoplanet? It's Complicated
Alpha Centauri B An Earth-mass planet has been spotted orbiting Alpha Centauri B, the closest star system to our own. ESO/L. CalçadaYou can call a star, a distant planet or a faraway galaxy anything you want, but it might not hold water with astronomers. Remember last week when PopSci told you about a "people's choice" contest to name the planet orbiting the Alpha Centauri star system? And the International Astronomical Union had cried foul, saying the paid contest had no bearing on the names? Well, it's not really that simple. You can call a star or a planet whatever you want, and even pay to nominate your favorite; it just might not matter to anyone else. Here's the story: Last fall, astronomers spotted a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B, the nearest star system to our own. This was exciting for a lot of astronomers, fans of science fiction and members of...