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IAU: No, You Can't Name That Exoplanet

Posted by Soulskill on from the who-died-and-made-you-president-of-planet-names dept.

astroengine writes "The International Astronomical Union (IAU) — the official body that governs the designations of all celestial bodies — in their capacity of purveyors of all things 'official' has deemed attempts at crowdsourcing names for exoplanets illegitimate. 'In the light of recent events, where the possibility of buying the rights to name exoplanets has been advertised, the International Astronomical Union wishes to inform the public that such schemes have no bearing on the official naming process,' writes Thierry Montmerle, General Secretary of the IAU in Paris, France. Although the 'schemes' are not specifically named, the most popular U.S.-based "exoplanet naming" group Uwingu appears to be the target of today's IAU statement. Set up by Alan Stern, planetary scientist and principal investigator for NASA's Pluto New Horizons mission, Uwingu encourages the public to nominate and vote (for a fee) on names for the slew of exoplanets steadily being discovered."

5 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. Rocky Mozell's star registry by marvinglenn · · Score: 3, Funny

    So where's the IAU when I keep hearing this radio commercial for the bullshit "Internaltional Star Registry" from Rocky Mozell? Or did they already smack that one down, and all the suckers who keep giving him money to run commercials didn't get the memo?

    --
    The whores get mad when the sluts give it away for free.
  2. Re:So what by dkleinsc · · Score: 5, Funny

    A light year is a unit of distance, not time.

    Says a man who's never made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

    --
    I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
  3. Re:You find it, you name it by Zadaz · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, but who's going to settle on a planet in orbit around Joe Smith's Giant Cock And Balls, or Spectacular Illumination By GoDaddy.com?

    And when we finally meet the aliens from Tostitos III, how do we explain that to them?

  4. Re:So what by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'll bet you're fun at parties:

    "Hey, Synerg1y, I heard you got a new job. Where are you working now?"

    "I'm not working now. I left work two hours ago. Besides, I refuse to speak to you because I don't know whether you've died in the 6 nanoseconds it takes for the light reflecting off of you to reach me."

  5. Re:You find it, you name it by bradorsomething · · Score: 3, Funny

    And when we finally meet the aliens from Tostitos III, how do we explain that to them?

    Over nachos?