[AstroNet] NameExoWorlds

[Kevin Govender]

Dear colleagues
Please see below the text from an IAU press release that you may be
interested in - please do pass this on. Direct link:
http://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1406/
Regards
Kevin

The IAU invites all public organisations with an interest in astronomy to
register on the IAU Directory for World Astronomy website for the
NameExoWorlds contest, where they will in early 2015 be able to suggest
names for exoplanets and their host stars. For the first time in history
the public will then be able to vote for the official name of stars and
planets. The IAU Directory for World Astronomy will function as a permanent
platform for the global astronomical community.

The deadline for registration for the contest is 31 December 2014. Details
of the registration procedure can be found on thewebsite
<http://directory.iau.org/>. Eligible organisations include: planetariums,
science centres, amateur astronomy clubs, online astronomy platforms, but
also non-profit organisations such as high schools or cultural clubs
interested in astronomy.

The updated schedule for the IAU NameExoWorlds contest is as follows:

   1.

   A list of 305 well-characterised exoplanets, discovered prior to 31
   December 2008, has been selected for naming by the IAU Exoplanets for
   the Public Working Group
   <http://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/211/> and
   the list was published in July on the www.NameExoWorlds.org
   <http://www.nameexoworlds.org/>website. These exoplanets belong to 260
   exoplanetary systems comprising one to five planets and their host stars.
   2.

   The IAU Directory for World Astronomy website <http://directory.iau.org/> is
   launched today and astronomy clubs and non-profit organisations interested
   in naming these ExoWorlds are invited to register. The IAU has the
   capability to handle the registration of thousands of such groups.
   3.

   In January 2015, these clubs and organisations will be asked to vote for
   the 20-30 ExoWorlds they wish to name out of the list provided by the IAU.
   The actual number will depend on how many groups have registered.
   4.

   From February 2015, registered clubs and organisations will be able to
   send proposed names for the planets and host stars of these selected
   ExoWorlds, based on the rules in the IAU Exoplanet Naming Conventions
   <http://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming_exoplanets/>, together with a
   detailed supporting argument for their choice. Each group will be allowed
   to name only one ExoWorld. More details on this stage will be given later.
   5.

   From April 2015, the general public will be able to vote on the proposed
   ExoWorld names. The IAU and Zooniverse  <https://www.zooniverse.org/>are
   ready to handle a million votes or more worldwide.
   6.

   Starting from July 2015, the IAU, via its Public Naming of Planets and
   Planetary Satellites
   <http://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/209/> Working
   Group, will oversee the final stages of the contest and will validate the
   winning names from the vote.
   7.

   The final results of the selected names for the exoplanets and their
   host stars will be announced at a special public ceremony held
during the IAU
   XXIX General Assembly in Honolulu, USA <http://astronomy2015.org/>, 3-14
   August 2015.

In order to adapt to local requirements, the IAU is calling for volunteers
worldwide to help with translation -- interested volunteers please contact
us at outreach at iau.org.

Registration for the NameExoWorlds contest is just one of the planned
functions of the IAU Directory for World Astronomy website. The site's
scope is much wider as it will function as a platform for the global
astronomical community to meet, and it will act also as an information
portal for the public to learn about astronomy activities internationally
and locally.

The second phase of the IAU Directory for World Astronomy will be launched
later this year, and will include an event calendar, which astronomical
organisations can use to publish and promote their events easily through
this one-stop service for the general public.
More information

The IAU is an international astronomical organisation of more than 10 000
professional astronomers from more than 90 countries. Its mission is to
promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through
international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally
recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and
their surface features.
Links

   - IAU Directory for World Astronomy website <http://directory.iau.org/>
   - NameExoWorlds <http://nameexoworlds.org/>
   - IAU "Exoplanets for the Public" Division F Working Group
   <http://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/211/>
   - IAU "Public Naming of Planets and Planetary Satellites" Executive
   Committee Working Group
   <http://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/209/>
   - IAU XXIX General Assembly in Honolulu, USA <http://astronomy2015.org/>

Contacts

Sze-leung Cheung
IAU International Outreach Coordinator
Tokyo, Japan
Tel: +81-(0)422-34-389
Cell: +81-(0)80-9274-2454
Email: cheungszeleung at iau.org

Thierry Montmerle
IAU General Secretary / Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 43 25 83 58
Email: montmerle at iap.fr

Lars Lindberg Christensen
IAU Press Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 320 06 761
Cell: +49 173 38 72 621
Email: lars at eso.org


-- 
Kevin Govender
IAU Office of Astronomy for Development
www.astro4dev.org
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