A company that aims to name all exoplanets is looking for suggestions

Mar 20, 2013 19:21 GMT  ·  By

All of the planets in the solar system have names, the ones we know about anyway. Even the ones that aren't planets anymore, Pluto, have names. Not so for the thousands of planets that we know of circling around other star systems.

But that may change, Uwingu CEO and scientists Dr. Alan Stern wants at least the closest exoplanet that we know of to get a name, a name other than Alpha Centauri Bb that is.

Granted, Uwingu is a company that aims to allow people to name exoplanets, for a price. These names aren't officially recognized, but the company says that this doesn't matter, as long as people use them.

To name the closest exoplanet though, Uwingu will hold a special contest, people can suggest names for a paltry $4.99 (€3.86) or vote for existing ones for just $0.99 (€0.76).

This name won't be officially recognized either, but the company promises prizes for the most popular suggestions.

The International Astronomical Union, the only body authorized to name celestial bodies has no plans to assign names to exoplanets.

It believes that naming each and every planet is impractical if it turns out planets are common in the galaxy, which is very likely the case.