Turkey gets rights to name distant star and planet

KAYSERI

Turkey is one of 100 countries to name a distant alien planet and its star, said a Turkish astronomer at the Anadolu agency on Tuesday.

As part of a campaign of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Turkey holds the rights to name the star currently known as WASP-52, as well as its exoplanet, seen by powerful space telescopes, said Ibrahim Kucuk of Erciyes University in Kayseri. of the Turkish Astronomical Society.

For its commemoration of the 100th anniversary, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is organizing the global NameExoWorlds campaign to allow "all countries of the world to give a popular name to a selected exoplanet and its host star," according to the website. of the group.

The Turkish Astronomical Society is the local representative of the international group, said Kucuk.

Countries are given the naming rights of stars easily observable from the capital – in this case, Ankara – even with the help of small telescopes, he added.

WASP-52 "is about 457 light-years away from us. His planet is not a habitable planet, it is a gaseous giant just like Jupiter, "he explained.

"The important thing is that we got his naming rights."

Kucuk said the suggested names for the star-planet duo could be submitted via the website of the Turkish group – tad.org.tr – and that they wanted schools and science centers to play an important role in the process.

"We have a jury made up of different universities. The jury will select two names of candidates and submit them to the company, "he said, adding that political or insulting names would not be taken into account.

December is the deadline for submitting the name to the International Astronomical Union, he said.

In addition to naming the stars, he added, Turkey also wants to create satellites and explore new stars and galaxies.

* Writing of Sena Guler

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