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."

Comments

Sid Meier

[Anonymous Coward]

The only known planet in Alpha Centauri should naturally have been named "Sid Meier". Any other name will be forgotten in no time by most people.

Re:Sid Meier

[binarylarry]

Sid Meier was one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, according to Bing.

Re:Sid Meier

[Gertlex]

Or more tastefully, Chiron, as it is called in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, if I recall correctly.

Also you can still play SMAC! GOG link

Re:Sid Meier

[Anonymous Coward]

Bing

You disgust me.

Re:Sid Meier

[keytoe]

It's odd to find this here just two days after I discovered that for the low, low price of $5.99 GOG would allow me to once again effortlessly lose track of an entire weekend. I had forgotten how great that game was.

Re:Sid Meier

[Gertlex]

That was myself about 3 weekends ago... though I've never lost my copy of the original CDs. Cheers.

Re:Sid Meier

[reboot246]

Sid Meier is 59 years old. He's old enough to BE a Grandpa!

Re:Sid Meier

[AaronLS]

Highly recommend Master of Orion 2 from GOG if you liked that game.

Amazing

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Amazing

[Smallpond]

The IAU called it a scam and space.com called it a scam. So its a scam.

Re:Amazing

[Cow Jones]

Mod this man up.

From the space.com article, here's what Uwingu's CEO had to say...

"They basically said we're conducting a scam, and nothing could be further from the truth," [...] "They basically put us out of business, and they've ruined our reputation."

"To claim what they claimed — that we're somehow misrepresenting that these were IAU names — has just about put us out of business," Stern told SPACE.com. "It's unbelievable."

"They've spent 18 years with no forward movement — ask planet hunter extraordinaire [and Uwingu adviser] Geoff Marcy," Stern said. "Then somebody else comes along and does something harmless, fun and engaging, and now they're slandering us."

Oh cry me a river...

CJ

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:Amazing

[Anonymous Coward]

Space.com did not call it a scam. They quoted Uwingu expressing concern that IAU called it a scam.
You're as bad as CNN, taking a perfectly adequate report, and adding false crap to it to make it "more true".

Re:Amazing

[rossdee]

"The IAU called it a scam"

But then they also called Pluto not-a-planet

I propose that the first human(s) to land on it, or at least orbit it, get to name it.

Unless it is inhabited already, in which case they get to name it.

did anybody asl Peter Jurasik and Stephen Furst ?

Re:Amazing

[simonbp]

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.

Re:Amazing

[JasterBobaMereel]

the IAU are like taxonomists, they are only noticed when they fail, and there is a dispute or confusion over a name ....

Re:Amazing

[jfanning]

Before joining in the beating maybe you should actually check who is involved. I think these people know the issues about the naming of astronomical bodies...

Dr. Alan Stern. Alan is an aerospace consultant and an Associate Vice President at the Southwest Research Institute, a large non-profit R&D institution with over 3400 employees, and operates a successful private aerospace consulting practice. Formerly, he directed all science program and missions at NASA.

Re:Amazing

[Kentari]

Aerospace consultant? Did the shipbuilders also get to name the discoveries of explorers? But I highly doubt he was even involved in building the HARPS instrument or the ESO 3.6m Telescope. So it would be like some random ship builder in England naming Hispaniola "Some bloke's passed away granddad's place" after doing a contest about it and expect it to be accepted. What these Uwingu guys are doing is disrespectful for the discoverers, the IAU and the granddad. I wouldn't like it if people attached my name to a celestial body illegitimately.

Re:Amazing

[simonbp]

They do already have regionally variable names, as English names rarely translate properly. I'm reminded of this every time a French college refers to Pluton.

The true gatekeepers of standards in science are the journal editorial boards. The standards they set are what everyone has to follow, not what some third-party "international authority" says.

Re:Amazing

[Teancum]

This is no different than people who sell parcels of land on the Moon or Mars, or name stars with a "Star Registry registered with the U.S. Copyright Office" (aka they put the book together and "registered" a "copyright" on the list of names with the Library of Congress... something that costs about $50 and doesn't mean a damn thing other than you can't publish those names elsewhere without permission).

I should note there are geographical naming boards like the IAU who work with terrestrial landmarks as well. For the most part, you really can't "name" random mountain peaks or even one inch squares in your back yard without quite a bit of legal hassle and in most cases going through either a legislative body of some sort (like the U.S. Congress, a state legislature, or even a municipal council) or somebody appointed by those legislative bodies to act in their behalf to administer such geographical names.

For the USA, the current agency to decide the name of geographic features is the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. This agency also coordinates its activities with other similar agencies operated by other members of the United Nations, and it should be pointed out that money being paid is not a consideration for if the name sticks or not. There are even then some restrictions, such as you can't give names to things in wilderness areas, and generally names must be of good taste as well (as determined by the board).

Re:Amazing

[Teancum]

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.)

To be exact, the treaty says you don't own it at all even if you live there.

If you are talking about the Outer Space Treaty, all it says is that it can't be claimed by a sovereign entity (actually, just the signature countries of the treaty) for national appropriation or territorial claim. Real estate can be claimed by private individuals though.... or at least that is real murky if anybody can actually claim extra-terrestrial real estate. Then again, ownership at the point of a gun is likely going to be recognized regardless of whatever some stupid treaty may or may not claim.

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:Authority...

[Finallyjoined!!!]

No, sorry matey, my authority outranks yours, as I have 3 ex-wives.
I hereby name this planet: Eric

Re:Authority...

[Anonymous Coward]

Have have it from at least three sources that you are always wrong.

Re:Authority...

[Tablizer]

But I name that planet Bob...seeing that I have just as much authority to name...

Just to tick you off, I'm going to rename it "Bob" spelled backwards! Take that!

Re:Authority...

[IndustrialComplex]

I'd be willing to bet that at least 1000 people would consider the naming company to have more authority than you. If for no other reason than the fact that they paid money to that company.

However, given that there would be 1000 of them, to one of you, I don't think that you can actually claim to have more authority.

Re:Authority...

[cyberchondriac]

But I name that planet Bob...seeing that I have just as much authority to name...

Just to tick you off, I'm going to rename it "Bob" spelled backwards! Take that!

"boB" ... has a nice look to it ..

Re:Authority...

[sesshomaru]

The owls are not what they seem.

Re:Authority...

[dwye]

e. e. cummings would second that.

Re:Authority...

[Tablizer]

while using dBASE III+

This is like those selling names for stars

[jmauro]

You get a nice certificate and nothing else. The IAU hasn't even started the process to create the procedure to name exoplanets.

Re:This is like those selling names for stars

[Anonymous Coward]

Relevant link: The Fullness of Time

Re:This is like those selling names for stars

[Anonymous Coward]

The IAU hasn't even started the process to create the procedure to name exoplanets [iau.org].

Which means nothing.

Popular names are rooted in non-scientific language. You know, that thing that Slashdotters hate which doesn't play by the rules, but plays by rule of majority; where hacker means evildoer and ATM Machine isn't redundant.

Words mean whatever the majority of people say they mean. In a similar vein, popular names are whatever the majority of people say they are. If a billion or two people started calling the sun Bob, we'd be checking the news to what time tomorrow's Bobrise and Bobset are.

Re:This is like those selling names for stars

[NettiWelho]

The IAU hasn't even started the process to create the procedure to name exoplanets.

Oh Oh Oh !
I got one!

First person on the planet gets to name it

Re:This is like those selling names for stars

[tftp]

First person on the planet gets to name it

What is the chance that an international committee of 100 professional bureaucrats will voluntarily cede their self-assigned right to name planets to some sort of intrepid Captain Lone Starr and his mawg?

Re:This is like those selling names for stars

[Black LED]

Maybe it's pronounced suh-ZAHN.

Re:This is like those selling names for stars

[FatLittleMonkey]

Fine, the ship's computer of the first IAU survey ship to arrive in-system gets to assign it a name from the next entry on its IAU approved names list. Better?

Total bullshit

[Kjella]

The recognized standards body is the International Astronomical Union and their policy is:

Exoplanets
In 2009, the Organizing Committee of IAU Commission 53 Extrasolar Planets (WGESP) on exoplanets discussed the possibility of giving popular names to exoplanets in addition to their existing catalogue designation (for instance HD 85512 b). Although no consensus was reached, the majority was not in favour of this possibility at the time.

However, considering the ever increasing interest of the general public in being involved in the discovery and understanding of the Universe, the IAU decided in 2013 to restart the discussion of the naming procedure for exoplanets and assess the need to have popular names as well. In 2013 the members of Commission 53 will be consulted in this respect and the result of this will be made public on this page.

This is just a company click-baiting by holding naming contests, they have no official standing whatsoever. Is this more dice.com crap?

Re:Total bullshit

[Mr. McGibby]

If the IAU can't get off their collective asses and start doing their job properly, then they'll soon find themselves outvoted by the likes of Uwingu who are going to do it for them. The IAU only has the position it has because they did a good job of gaining consensus until recently with the whole Pluto fiasco. And if you don't think that was a fiasco, then you don't know enough about it. If they screw up exoplanet naming, then people are going to start looking to someone else or just ignore the IAU. Nobody wants that, so perhaps the IAU should stop acting like entitled pricks and do their damn job.

http://www.space.com/20665-planet-naming-controversy-iau-uwingu.html

Re:Total bullshit

[awrc]

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:Total bullshit

[bryonak]

I don't think it was a fiasco at all. Keep in mind that having 9 planets is out of question.
For starters, you'd have a hard time arguing that Pluto is a planet while Ceres isn't.

Either we designate Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, Eris (notably bigger and more massive than Pluto) and possibly Orcus, Quaoar, OR and Sedna as planets... or we stay with Mercury up to Neptune.
There's a clear orbital distinction between the first 8 and the other 9+, so it really makes sense to group them in two categories, especially since we aren't sure at all that we have found all dwarf planets yet.

Re:Total bullshit

[arth1]

Eris (notably bigger and more massive than Pluto)

Higher mass, yes. Bigger, no. Eris and Pluto are almost exactly the same size, and it's up in the air which one is actually a tiny bit bigger. Eris is most certainly not "notably bigger".
The mass of the Eris and Pluto systems are also close enough that "notably" shouldn't be used.

But what makes Eris less of a planet candidate than Pluto is that Eris' orbit is way way more eccentric than Pluto's. Yes, Pluto moves at an angle to the ecliptic, and in an elliptic orbit too, but not nearly to the same degrees as Eris. At least Pluto is in lockstep with Neptune, and thus clearly belong in the solar system. Eris moves almost twice the distance away from Neptune, at a 45 degree angle to the ecliptic (more than twice that of Pluto). That's not what I'd think of as planetary motion.

Re:Total bullshit

[Shadowmist]

The recognized standards body is the International Astronomical Union and their policy is:

Exoplanets In 2009, the Organizing Committee of IAU Commission 53 Extrasolar Planets (WGESP) on exoplanets discussed the possibility of giving popular names to exoplanets in addition to their existing catalogue designation (for instance HD 85512 b). Although no consensus was reached, the majority was not in favour of this possibility at the time.

However, considering the ever increasing interest of the general public in being involved in the discovery and understanding of the Universe, the IAU decided in 2013 to restart the discussion of the naming procedure for exoplanets and assess the need to have popular names as well. In 2013 the members of Commission 53 will be consulted in this respect and the result of this will be made public on this page.

This is just a company click-baiting by holding naming contests, they have no official standing whatsoever. Is this more dice.com crap?

Was this started by the public wish of one of the discoverers of remote ice dwarfs beyond Pluto to have his discovery named Xena?

Re:Total bullshit

[Shadowmist]

.

At least Pluto is in lockstep with Neptune, and thus clearly belong in the solar system. Eris moves almost twice the distance away from Neptune, at a 45 degree angle to the ecliptic (more than twice that of Pluto). That's not what I'd think of as planetary motion.

As I understand it, being in "lockstep" with another planet is not part of the scientific definition of planethood. If it were, then we'd have some problems. Anything that orbits the Sun is by definition, a "proper member of the solar system." The thing here is about differentiating all these "proper" members into more useful divisions. Neither Pluto, nor Eris have cleared out the areas bordering their orbits. While they are circular bodies, numbers alone have demonstrated that that by itself would result in the solar system having thousands of "planets", with the conventional planets Mercury to Neptune, now being designated as the "freaks" of the lot.

Re:Total bullshit

[arth1]

As I understand it, being in "lockstep" with another planet is not part of the scientific definition of planethood. If it were, then we'd have some problems.

No, but having an orbit that's been stable for and will continue to be stable for millions of years is a good start. Neptune won't suddenly pull Pluto out of its orbit, because their orbits are synchronized at a 2:3 rate. It's less clear how long-term stable Eris' orbit is.

Neither Pluto, nor Eris have cleared out the areas bordering their orbits.

Neither has Mars. Jupiter and Tellus keep Mars' orbit relatively clean, which it's too small to do itself, but there's still enough debris in its orbit that it occasionally runs into it (which Phobos and Deimos prove). The definition of keeping the orbit clean was added to specifically exclude Pluto and Ceres, but has to some extent backfired.
It would have been far better to just say straight out that they want to cap it at the gas and ice giants, plus the four historically known inner planets. I could live with that, but making up rules that don't even work in order to give a veneer of legitimacy to excluding some bodies and including others to match their desire, and pushing it through in a session after most of the opponents have left, that's what deserves derision and ridicule.

Naminf of Astronomical Objects

[jmpace2017]

I think the International Astronomical union is the only "Earthly" organization to assign official names to astronomical objects...

Re:Naminf of Astronomical Objects

[Radak]

There should be a Slashdot achievement for "Got typo modded up". :)

Re:Vulcan

[ArcadeMan]

It's been blown up by the Romulans, remember?

NEVER SEEN ANOTHER, NON-ALIEN PLANET !!

[Anonymous Coward]

By def.

Here's an idea

[LordNimon]

How about ... the first person to set foot on the planet gets to name it?

Re:Here's an idea

[Incadenza]

How about asking the native Alaudans? We should now better by now than to continue our colonial past.

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".

Re:Here's an idea

[kperson]

If it has no name until you get there, what are you going to enter into your nav computer?

Re:Here's an idea

[Anonymous Coward]

How about asking the native Alaudans? We should now better by now than to continue our colonial past.

Do they have a flag? No flag, no planet.

Re:Here's an idea

[wonkey_monkey]

So we can't name any gas giants?

Re:Here's an idea

[FatLittleMonkey]

"First star to the right and straight on till morning."

Re:Here's an idea

[IndustrialComplex]

I'd have gone with the Samsung Galaxy.

His name is Dirt..

[sstamps]

When the native Alaudans were asked "what does the name of your planet mean in your tongue?"

"Dirt", they replied.

Re:His name is Dirt..

[NettiWelho]

When the native Alaudans were asked "what does the name of your planet mean in your tongue?"

"Dirt", they replied.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_(mythology)

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Tellus or Terra Mater ("Mother Earth") is a goddess of the earth.

Re:His name is Dirt..

[Anonymous Coward]

That gag is a little simplistic. Earth doesn't just mean "dirt". It's a term encompassing all forms of stone and soil. It's also used yo refer to land, particularly arable land. It's also an element in classical philosophy.

Basically the term "earth" is an idealized catch all term for what's under our feet.

Re:His name is Dirt..

[Anonymous Coward]

But by bizarre happenstance, they still pronounce it exactly like "Albertus Alauda".

I will call it Albertus Alauda...

[JonathanPlaster]

when they pry the planet Pluto from my cold, dead hands.

Re:I will call it Albertus Alauda...

[VortexCortex]

when they pry the planet Pluto from my cold, dead hands.

Eris is 27% more massive than Pluto. You can have Pluto as a Planet if you're willing to agree humans are all blind as bats because they didn't see THE OTHER PLANET that was hovering about your star, even after all those centuries looking, you only just spotted it 8 years ago...

Or, you can just de-list Pluto and save some of your pathetic face, human. Hell, you wouldn't even raise an eyebrow if there were thousands of colony ships just sitting right in your back yard, gravitationally maneuvering a small moon into just the right orbit to create a nice warm magma-world where you sit now... You study such small patches of the sky at great distances, and ignore the much nearer and real threat of assured extinction. "It's not a question of 'if', It's only a matter of time" I hear your broadcasts say about repeating the events that destroyed the previous dominant life on your planet. Oh, but what if the next time is worse? It could be MUCH worse for you, indeed. How many dwarf planets are left unseen, unnamed, right in your own solar system? Wouldn't you like to know?! No, obviously not.

You had your chance: You made it to the closest easiest target, but then parked your waste-holes for over 40 stellar orbits. Had you shown promise, been prodigiously diligent or at least sensible enough to expend the small cultural effort to develop the tech to colonize beyond your planet's safe magnetosphere then maybe things would have worked out differently for you... The Universe has neither love nor sympathy for lazy complacent races such as yours.

"Cold, dead hands" -- Ha! They might as well be for all the good you've done with them.

Re:I will call it Albertus Alauda...

[Shadowmist]

You had your chance: You made it to the closest easiest target, but then parked your waste-holes for over 40 stellar orbits. Had you shown promise, been prodigiously diligent or at least sensible enough to expend the small cultural effort to develop the tech to colonize beyond your planet's safe magnetosphere then maybe things would have worked out differently for you... The Universe has neither love nor sympathy for lazy complacent races such as yours.

"Cold, dead hands" -- Ha! They might as well be for all the good you've done with them.

Actually the Universe has neither love nor sympathy for anyone, whether lazy, or competent. Sometimes extremely fit species are laid low, and extremely silly ones are preserved through nothing more significant than blind luck.

Koozebane

[SplashMyBandit]

Damn he won the contest. As a former member of a team that discovered planets using gravitational microlensing I always wanted to get the chance to name a planet "Koozebane", which is the planet many muppet aliens (supposedly) come from. Instead they got named boring things like "MACHO-98-BLG-35". Lucky guy to name the planet.

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.

Re:Koozebane

[SteveFoerster]

This happens anyway. You do know why Eris's moon is called Dysnomia, right?

They are missing out on a real opportunity.

[Anarchduke]

They could lease naming rights to companies. I can see it now.

The intersteller transport to the nearby colony planet of Godaddy.com will depart shortly. There will be a brief layover on the forest moon of Playtex Gentle Glide. I remind you again that exporting any sentient vegetation from the planet Monsanto is strictly forbidden.

TXPNONBTSC

[Anonymous Coward]

The eXoPlanet Not Officially Named By That Scam Company

Re:Vulcan

[VortexCortex]

It's been blown up by the Romulans, remember?

No, it was blown up by Young Darth Vader in an odd shaped Death Star. The names were changed to protect the innocent. That was just a practice round to prove to Disney that the director was capable of making Star-Wars movies.

Wait a second...

[Tarlus]

What do the residents of the planet have to say about this?

Who gave IAU naming authority anyway?

[caseih]

Was this by international treaty? As they say, "I don't remember voting for you."

Re:Who gave IAU naming authority anyway?

[kinthalas]

So we vote for science now? Whatever is most popular gets to be true?

Who would you want to be in charge of this? I tend to think that an international committee of actual astronomers is probably going to do a better job than letting a company decide.

Re:Who gave IAU naming authority anyway?

[schnell]

So we vote for science now? Whatever is most popular gets to be true?

Not about what is true, about what things are named. Scientific truth is objective, names are not. Is it "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" or "North Korea?" "Denali" or "Mount McKinley?" "Strategic Defense Initiative" or "Star Wars?" "Gravina Island Bridge" or "Bridge to Nowhere?"

The moral of the story is that a thing is called what people want to call it. Even if your name is the "official" one, it doesn't matter much if everybody else calls it something else.

700 votes?

[Fuzzums]

Only 700 votes? We could easily have had a planet named SlashDot!

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:Slashdot keeps getting shittier

[CanEHdian]

I have no mod points laying around, but I'd mod parent up. Just because space.com picks up a story doesn't make it newsworthy. What's next? Dig up some story about how you can plots of land on the Moon?

Anybody want to buy an Asteroid? I'm giving a $25,000 discount to the first 10 buyers!

Re:Slashdot keeps getting shittier

[kumanopuusan]

Dig up some story about how you can plots of land on the Moon?

That sounds like an awesome story! Those must be some big cans. How do you get them to the Moon and what do you do with them afterward?

Re:Slashdot keeps getting shittier

[Shadowmist]

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?

You mean there's a difference?

Not the full name

[Nemyst]

It's Albertus Alauda, powered by Dice (TM).

Re:Better idea.

[BitZtream]

You do realize that 99.999% of the people in the universe will have no idea what you're talking about ... right? That of course would completely defeat the purpose of the naming scheme, don't you think?

Don't try so hard to be clever and maybe you will actually be clever.

not gonna happen

[dnorman]

um. no. some dotcom doesn't get to sell naming rights to planets. and some dude doesn't get to immortalize his papa because he can fill in an online form. gramps may have been awesome, but he doesn't get the nearest extra-solar planet named after him...

Wasted Planet II

[MillionthMonkey]

The second planet now known to be wasted by humans.

Nobody suggested this?

[xenoc_1]

Wouldn't the obvious choice be Zephram? After all, he was from Alpha Centuri before he was from Montana.

Well, depending on your subjective timeline, that is.

Either that, or name it Londo.

Re:Nobody suggested this?

[LateArthurDent]

Wouldn't the obvious choice be Zephram? After all, he was from Alpha Centuri before he was from Montana.

He was always born on Earth, regardless of time-line. When TOS referred to him as "Zefram Cochrane from Alpha Centauri" they were referring to the location where he eventually settled. As the inventor of Warp Drive, there's no way any humans could have gotten to Alpha Centauri before Cochrane was born.

Let's focus our First Contact continuity complaints on the Borg Queen. What a horrible idea that was...

Re:Nobody suggested this?

[kst]

In the original episode "Metamorphosis", it wasn't clear where Cochrane was originally from. He could have been a humanoid native of a planet in the the Alpha Centauri system (at the time I thought "Zefram Cochrane" was a sufficiently exotic name that he could have been non-human). Or, more likely, he could have been born in a colony established by sublight ships; we know from "Space Seed" that there were sublight sleeper ships before the invention of warp drive.

Annoying quibble: Kirk's line was "Zefram Cochrane? Of Alpha Centauri?" (The "of" might have a subtly different implication than "from".)

Re:Nobody suggested this?

[LateArthurDent]

(at the time I thought "Zefram Cochrane" was a sufficiently exotic name that he could have been non-human)

I was going to point out how this doesn't make any sense, when I was suddenly reminded almost every alien in TOS looked exactly like a human. Including Klingons, which looked like bearded humans. It's been too long, I think it's time for me to rewatch those episodes.

we know from "Space Seed" that there were sublight sleeper ships before the invention of warp drive.

Like I said, it's been a while, but I could have sworn Spock said the DY-100 class of ships was meant for traveling within the Solar System, and that the cryogenic chambers were meant to keep humans alive for months, not centuries. I always figured Kahn used his superior intellect to modify the ship for his purposes when escaping Earth.

Annoying quibble: Kirk's line was "Zefram Cochrane? Of Alpha Centauri?" (The "of" might have a subtly different implication than "from".)

You are right, sir. I stand corrected. My memory is far more accurate for TNG episodes.

Re:Nobody suggested this?

[dwye]

As per the Star Fleet Technical Manual era books, the Terrans reached Alpha Centuri via a 50 year trip on a sleeper ship, and discovered that the Preservers had made a colony of North Africans (Carthaginians by culture), and Western Med Greek coloni and Celts. Zephram Cochrane was a local mathematician that postulated a space warp without the technology to build it, which the Terrans had. Construction of the return ship was so fast that it preceded the report that they were going to build one and return to Earth.

I HATE ST:TNG!

IAU, Please

[Dereck1701]

"the International Astronomical Union issued a press release stressing its authority as the sole arbiter of the exoplanet-naming process"

While this of course is at best a PR/Fundraising scheme, and at worst a scam, I don't particularly have much respect for the IAU either. Some of their past decisions are less about science, and more about politics. They CONSIDER themselves the "official" naming organization but in the annals of history I don't think their decisions are going to mean a hole lot.

Re:IAU, Please

[Nimey]

Is your butt still hurt about Pluto?

Re:Vulcan

[TrollstonButtersbean]

Star Wars happened "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ..."

Ok.

[interval1066]

I can live with the name, but I thought "Caleo" was a nie choice as well. "Caleo" is "flame" in latin.

The real most important thing:

[RMingin]

While it's cute that Uwingu let this guy believe he named a planet for his dead grandpa, it's not cool that they seem to be presenting it as an official, authoritative name.

Uwingu chooses names, sure, but they are official only to Uwingu itself and optionally, some of their users.

Until and unless the IAU gives some authority to Uwingu, they have none. IAU says it's still AlphaCent-Bb.

Re:The real most important thing:

[RockDoctor]

Until and unless the IAU gives some authority to Uwingu, they have none. IAU says it's still AlphaCent-Bb.

Lark remarks that the name comes from the Latin name of his late grandfather, stating

And with an etymological justification like that ... it's going to remain Alpha Centauri-Bb for quite a while yet.

All very fine and good for the guy to attempt to remember his grandfather, but to name a whole planet for him? Hubris! If he'd restrained his etymology to "bright", then he'd have had a much better chance of getting it (and he'd have had the private reason too. But by publishing an etymology like this, he has completely shot himself down. And in the process, he's destroyed Uwingu and their attempt to raise money for science. What a result! (And not in a good sense!)

Mnemonic Device for Quag Meier's brother

[rmdingler]

Do you have a lot of Prince Albert in a U.S. can?

Re:Vulcan

[xstonedogx]

Star Wars happened "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ..."

...from the person telling the story.

"Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

Re:So aliens there will be called "Albertans"?

[tompaulco]

We Canucks would love that :)

There are no aliens there. If we go there, then there will be aliens there.

The local race is not going to be happy

[jonfr]

The local race in that area (Alpha Century) is not going to be happy about it once they find out, in about 75 years time or so.

Niven FTW! Come on, guys.

[Anonymous Coward]

We must call it Wunderland, I think that should be obvious to this crowd...

No need to wait

[Roger W Moore]

There is already a Disney World. ;-)

It is on the same elvel as claiming a moon parcel

[aepervius]

As long as you can't set foot and have a permanent presence on the moon/exoplanet, it is just fun. Unless people pay money then it is a scam.

Don't worry.

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe an American will finally discover an actual planet one day. Everyone else already has.

Re:Don't worry.

[Shadowmist]

Maybe an American will finally discover an actual planet one day. Everyone else already has.

Everyone? You can't really count the visible planets, or if you do, then every American is descended from an ethnic group that "discovered" them. As to the Extra Saturnian Planets, Uranus was discovered by an Englishman, and Neptune's discovery was the collaborative result of two Frenchmen, an actual telespcope guy and a mathematician who gave out the clues of where to look. That's hardly everyone.

Pluto's demotion was the result of the fact that up to now, the only definition of "planet" was the non-scientific one of "wanderer in the sky". Any scientific definition that would have kept Pluto as designated a planet would have immediately ballooned the number planets in the solarystem to over thirty, potentially thousands, with the majority of planets being bodies smaller than the Moon, and little more than dirty snowballs.

"Because an American discovered it." is not a valid reason to not move science forward in this area. It should also be noted that Pluto did not fit the criteria for success for answering the question that originally inspired the search, correcting perceived anomalies in Neptune's orbit. Discrepancies by the way which have been resolved as being observational errors of the time, and an incorrect figure for Neptune's mass which was refined by the Voyager flyby.

Pluto is not even the most massive dwarf planet, that honor going to the recently named Eris. It does bear the honor of being the signatory body of a new class of solary system body, the Ice Dwarf.

If Clyde Tombaugh's living descendants can accept the name change with dignity and grace, (they even gave a warm welcome to Nat History's Dr. Tyson who made the issue public by taking Pluto out of his Hall of Planets,), I would hope that any person who puts science in front of national breast-beating would as well.

Re:Don't worry.

[tehcyder]

Uranus was discovered by an Englishman

As a consequence, we English get to decide on the pronunciation. It's "Yer Anus".

Albert

[Hypotensive]

is not a Latin name.

Re:there's something important to do first...

[rossdee]

The Vogons are due on Thursday

planet naming taxonomy

[pne]

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.

Then you had better not look at the names of asteroids... some of them are pretty whimsical. "19383 Rolling Stones" is just an example.

Re:Points at Nearest Alien Planet

[Racemaniac]

No Chii, that's the planet Albertus Alauda

Now renamed Augustus Gloop II

[Doghouse13]

Who by? Me. I expect everyone to start using the revised name immediately. Yeah, right. Let's be real - I have just as much right (or more accurately, as little) as anyone else to give it a name. Uwingu certainly don't have any more standing to do so than I do. Even the IAU only comes closest because most people who're seriously involved in astronomy are inclined to give deference to it. Until and unless that's underpinned by an international treaty with legal backing, though, this is simple drivel.

Re:Vulcan

[barlevg]

We've already got a Vulcan. And it's closer than that.

Alpha Centauri B flat? Seriously?

[gelfling]

Who thought that one up?

Re:Alpha Centauri B flat? Seriously?

[dwye]

Who thought that one up?

Johann Sebastian Bach, actually.

Re:Vulcan

[geminidomino]

Not so far away that travel was impossible between ours and theirs. Remember, ET's race has been to Earth, and was also a member of the Senate.

Re:Vulcan

[Shadowmist]

We've already got a Vulcan. And it's closer than that.

Einstein sort of took care of that. Mercury is deep enough in the Sun's gravity well that the Newtonian discrepancies which would support the existence of Vulcan are explained away by the curvature of space-time.

Legitimacy

[tehcyder]

What gives this particular company any legitimate right to name planets? I say that the first one to land on it should get naming rights. That'll show whether they're serious about sponsoring space exploration, or are just ripping off feeble-minded individuals who think they also own a piece of the Moon and a star named after their cat.

Not your grandpa's planet...naming ways.

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

In the year 2263:

Teacher: Well, class. Let's all welcome our new student Jimmy. His family just moved here to Mars from Alpha Centauri. Jimmy, why don't you tell us what it was like. What planet did your family live on?

Jimmy: mumble mumble

Teacher: I'm sorry, I didn't get that.

Jimmy: Albertus Alauda

Nelson: Your planet is named after some dead guy's grandpa who won a contest! Ha ha!

Teacher: That's enough. It's true, all seventeen billion Albertus Alaudans live on a planet named in a contest by a bunch of people who might as well been carrying spears.

Re:Points at Nearest Alien Planet

[Golddess]

Oddly enough, this actually feels on-topic for once.

Because Chii has as much authority to name a planet as this "Uwing" company does.

NOT Vulcan

[dwye]

Would have been the obvious choice.

Vulcan circled Tau Ceti, about 10 light years away. Alpha Centuri had a colony of Celts, Greeks, and North Africans that were transported there by the Preservers.

Ye Gods! Does no one read the Star Trek Technical Manual, anymore?

Pluto

[Dabido]

I think we should name it Pluto ... after Mickey Mouse's dog. I heard that name wasn't being used by a planet any more.