Dingolay, Ramajay, Soucouyant, La Diablesse? Public Voting Opens for T&T to name an Exoplanet and Star

Public voting opened on October 30th 2019 ends on Sunday November 10, 2019.Persons can vote online by visitinghttps://www.nameexoworldstt.com/. The final decision will be announced by the IAU in December 2019.

"This is a first in the history of Astronomy for Trinidad and Tobago to have an opportunity to be immortalized among the stars,” said Dr Haque. “Together, we all can be part of that effort in choosing the names that become the official names internationally for the host star and its exoplanet. The power of science uniting us all to a wonderful common cause! The winning entry will be officially announced globally in December 2019 by the International Astronomical Union."

The IAU is the largest astronomical society of professional astronomers in the world. In 2019, it celebrates its 100th anniversary with several events during the year. Of special note is its initiative “Name Exoworlds”. In this programme, countries around the world get to name a host star and its exoplanet. The competition is to name a designated system of the host star and its exoplanet, jointly called “exoworld”. This name will become its official name apart from its scientific designation.

A proposal from Trinidad and Tobago was accepted for this “Name Exoworlds” initiative and a system of the host star and exoplanet was assigned to us for a national competition to name. It must represent the cultural or geographical heritage of the country. The grand prize is a telescope, with hampers for runners up and tokens for finalists. However, according to Dr. Haque, “The grandest prize for all of us of is the honour of a star and an exoplanet having a Trinbagonian name. What an opportunity to be immortalised among the stars! Move over Greeks, Romans and Arabs, here comes a Trinbago star and planet!”

For more information please visit https://sta.uwi.edu/mediacentre/