The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has launched the “NameExoWorlds 2022” competition to name 20 stars and exoplanets that will be monitored by the newly launched James Webb Telescope (JWST) for future missions.
In 2019, Lebanon succeeded in naming the exoplanet Beirut and its host star Phoenicia, according to a vote conducted on social media.
In this year’s competition, the IAU requested that the voting process be conducted by teams rather than individuals.
In line with the rules established by the International Astronomical Union, and to facilitate the nomination process, the Lebanese National Committee submits 6 possible nominations for voting by the teams:
A. Haramoun, Sannine
B. Byblos, Baalbek
C. Melkart, Murex
D. Adonis, Ashtaroute
E. Mochus, Cadmos
F. Tyros, Qana
Through the NameExoWorlds initiatives, the IAU and its partners recognize the importance of space and various cultures, as the competition invites communities across the world to connect.
Created in 1919, the IAU aims to catalog celestial objects and provide names for them, as the advancement in science has enabled astronomers to detect new celestial objects, called exoplanets.
In 2019, the NameExoWorlds competition offered every country the chance to name one planetary system, as 112 countries organized campaigns involving the participation of more than 780,000 people worldwide.
Lebanese people can participate as follows:
- Creating a team composed of students and teachers, astronomy enthusiasts, and exoplanetary scientists;
- Create and implement an event related to exoplanets;
- Teams are free to choose their method of selecting the name to be submitted in the proposal;
- Register the team to submit their name proposal (written format and video) via this form.
The deadline for the “NameExoWorlds 2022” competition is November 11, 2022.
