Nearest Alien Planet Gets New Name

SchrodingerZ writes "The nearest planet outside our solar system has recently been named Albertus Alauda. Originally named Alpha Centauri Bb, the planet is the closest known planet not orbiting the Sun, being a mere 4.3 light years away. The name comes from Jay Lark, who won the naming contest held by Uwingu starting last month and ending on April 22. Lark remarks that the name comes from the Latin name of his late grandfather, stating, "My grandfather passed away after a lengthy and valiant battle with cancer; his name in Latin means noble or bright and to praise or extol." The competition for naming the planet came from Uwing, a company which used the buying of name proposals and votes to fund grants for future space exploration ventures. Albertus Alauda won the competition with 751 votes, followed by Rakhat with 684 votes, and Caleo, with 622 votes."

Authority...

[imsabbel]

Well, that fine.

But I name that planet Bob. And seeing that have just as much authority to name extraterestial bodies as this company that isn't even important enough to have a wikipedia article.

Re:Here's an idea

[cynop]

When deep space exploration ramps up it'll be the corporations that name everything... the "IBM Stellar Sphere", the "Microsoft Galaxy", "Planet Starbucks".

Slashdot keeps getting shittier

[Nimey]

The fuck, man? Posting a story that 700-some idiots paid actual money to have a chance to give an exoplanet a non-official name and pretending like it means something?

Is this Slashdot or is it Entertainment Weekly?

Re:Amazing

[meerling]

Correct.
Anybody can claim to be running a contest to name anything, legality not withstanding, however, only the body/organization that is internationally recognized as the valid naming registrar can actually place or change names. In this case, it's the IAU (International Astronomical Union).
Uwing claims they didn't say they were sanctioned to do so by IAU, but then again, they didn't say they weren't, and most people will assume that you had obtained permission to do something you are taking money for unless you say otherwise. To not point out that it is an unofficial name choosing, is the first sign of a scam.

Another thing, if you see anyone wanting money for ANYTHING not within the confines of the Earths Troposphere, it's about 99.999% probably it's a scam. You won't get any property, rights, or official naming of anything. There are international treaties that cover a lot of this stuff, and one of the first rules in that whole thing is if you don't have people their, you definitely have no rights to sell it, period. (Even if you do have people there, you still have lots of limits on what you can do.)

By the way, horrible name choice in my opinion. Nice to honor your grandfather, but still, that name sucks.

Re:Koozebane

[DNS-and-BIND]

This is precisely why I want scientists naming planets according to an accepted method of taxonomy. Koozebane? Seriously? Because muppets? I like the muppets as much as the next man but come on - a heavenly object stuck with a ridiculous name like that forever just because some guy thought it would be funny? Ugh no.

Re:Koozebane

[SplashMyBandit]

Fair enough, but there is no accepted taxonomy for planets. In the case of the gravitational microlensing planetary events it is an accident of project, year and event within the year. In short, arbitrary and meaningless. Then we can take plenty of the traditional star names out there, eg. "Algol" from Arabic Al Gol "The ghoul" or "winking demon" from its variable nature. That is no less ridiculous than Koozebane, and less funny.