Nearest Alien Planet Gets New Name 185
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."
Amazing (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm not sure what to be more surprised about, that 751 suckers paid money to vote on a meaningless name competition, or that slashdot got duped into publishing it as if anyone other than Uwing will actually use the name.
This is just another variant on those "name a star after your mom" scams.
Here's an idea (Score:5, Interesting)
How about ... the first person to set foot on the planet gets to name it?
His name is Dirt.. (Score:5, Interesting)
When the native Alaudans were asked "what does the name of your planet mean in your tongue?"
"Dirt", they replied.
Koozebane (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Total bullshit (Score:3, Interesting)
Get off their collective asses? What's the urgency? Are the names of these exoplanets going to have any significance to *anybody* other than astronomers anytime soon? For values of "soon" that could measure in centuries. It's not as if somebody's desperately waiting on this information so they can put out bus timetables.
Re:Amazing (Score:5, Interesting)
To quite honest, and speaking as a working professional astronomer, the IAU itself is a bit of scam. It has no actual authority, no actual acountability, and no real sway on science. It's more a bunch of astronomers who should have been lawyers and who occasionally meet and pretend they are important. Oh and they charge an arm and leg for membership, which is why the vast majority of astronomers are not members.
In reality astronomy doesn't really need an "international authority". The sky is the sky and observations are almost always reproducible. If someone doesn't believe you, they can go and observe it themselves. That's called the scientific method. It does not need nor is enhanced by lawyers-cum-astronomers.