microrobert
12-10-2011, 02:09 PM
Exoplanet Kepler 22b: why do these planets get such dull names?
Scientists say giving planets memorable names would simply take too long, as new planet is given the catchy title 22b.
Sci-fi fans might be disappointedly asking why real-life alien planets don't get given cool names like their fictional counterparts. What happened to Pandora, or Arakis, or Hoth or Tatooine? Star Wars gives us Coruscant and Endor: reality burdens us with HD 85512 and Gliese 581d.
The reason, of course, is time. "Some scientists have suggested naming each planet, perhaps after Roman or Greek characters," says Ken Rice of the University of Edinburgh, "but I don't think anyone has taken it seriously. It would slow everything down: you would need an international system. And these planets are being discovered at a rate of one a day or so [385 were found in 2010]."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8937818/Exoplanet-Kepler-22b-why-do-these-planets-get-such-dull-names.html
Scientists say giving planets memorable names would simply take too long, as new planet is given the catchy title 22b.
Sci-fi fans might be disappointedly asking why real-life alien planets don't get given cool names like their fictional counterparts. What happened to Pandora, or Arakis, or Hoth or Tatooine? Star Wars gives us Coruscant and Endor: reality burdens us with HD 85512 and Gliese 581d.
The reason, of course, is time. "Some scientists have suggested naming each planet, perhaps after Roman or Greek characters," says Ken Rice of the University of Edinburgh, "but I don't think anyone has taken it seriously. It would slow everything down: you would need an international system. And these planets are being discovered at a rate of one a day or so [385 were found in 2010]."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8937818/Exoplanet-Kepler-22b-why-do-these-planets-get-such-dull-names.html