An exoplanet is any planet beyond the Solar System, typically orbiting a star though some may be free-floating. Today, there are more than 5,000 confirmed exoplanets, and thousands more are candidate exoplanet detections that need further observations.
With the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) deployment, astronomers expect to record new exoplanets that were unknown before. Due to that, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which is in charge of naming celestial objects, has launched a contest to name a newly discovered exoplanet and its host star.
NameExoWorlds 2022 Competition
The IAU is launching a contest to name 20 exoplanetary systems that the JWST will observe to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The contest called NameExoWorlds 2022 seeks to bring together professional astronomers and the public to allow them to name an exoplanet and its host star.
According to a press release from OAO, the IAU and its partners recognize the importance of the connection between the sky and the diversity of cultures worldwide. They invite communities across the globe to connect their cultures to these distinct worlds. Each team can propose a name for an exoplanet and its host star from the confirmed list in the ExoWorlds.
IAU was created in 1919 composed of professional astronomers who cataloged celestial objects and provided consistent conventions in naming them. Through advancements in technology, exoplanets were found and the first ones were just discovered three decades ago. But most of them have scientific names that have no connection to the stories and cultures on Earth.
The union hopes that through NameExoWorlds 20222 competition, the international interest in astronomy will be reflected. The competition started in 2015 in which 19 ExoWorlds or a total of 14 stars and 31 exoplanets, were named with over half a million votes from 182 countries and territories. In 2019, the focus was on calling planetary systems in which 112 counties and 780,000 people worldwide joined.
The 20 exoplanetary systems to be named in the NameExoWorlds 2022 competition are the first exoplanet targets of JWST, the international space observatory led by NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency. These systems were discovered using mixed techniques of transit method and direct imaging.
The competition is a collaboration between the Executive Committee Working Group on Exoplanetary Systems Nomenclature and IAU's OAO. The union wishes to bring amateur and professional astronomers to name these exoworlds.
How to Join NameExoWorlds 2022 Competition
IAU said that anyone wishing to join the competition should form a team composed of students and teachers, astronomy enthusiasts, and amateur and professional astronomers.
Each team must conduct an astronomy outreach event related to exoplanets and choose an exoplanetary system from the 20 ExoWorlds on the list.
They will propose a name for their chosen system, composed of exoplanets and their host star, in their language and explain the cultural context of the name.
Lastly, register the team and submit their proposal that is in written format along with a video via this form. Every proposal sent will undergo a two-step process of selection.
The first step is the national selection by the National Outreach Coordinators (NCOs), who will choose a national candidate and two backup names, and the final selection committee is composed of the Working Group on Exoplanetary Systems Nomenclature.
The exoplanet discoverers will also join in choosing the winners by assessing proposed names from each country and selecting the name for the ExoWorld. The selected names will be based on the description and meaning behind them and the outreach activities held by each team. IAU said the winning names will be recognized as the official public names of these ExoWorlds.
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