The public will be able to choose a name for an exoplanet and its star, like the ones in the artist's impression pictured
Keystone
Will a planet called Raclette soon be orbiting a star called Fondue? The Swiss public have submitted almost 1,500 names for an exoplanet and its star. Twelve are now being put to a public vote.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ts
Русский
ru
Звезда по имени Фондю? Голосуй за швейцарское название!
Two Swiss astronomers, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, have just won the Nobel Prize for Physics for discovering in 1995 the first exoplanet, a planet orbiting a star other than the sun. Many more exoplanets followed, and one of them, “HD130322 b”, and its star in the Virgo constellation will soon have a new, catchier name chosen by the public.
Among the proposals are pairs of names such as “Raclette” for the planet and “Fondue” for the star, “Chasperli” and “Globi” after children’s characters, or – to match the constellation of Virgo – “Eiger” and “Mönch” (the third of neighbouring mountain peaks in the Bernese Alps, the Jungfrau, means virgin in German and is the name for the zodiacal sign Virgo).
From Switzerland, the star can be seen very well with small telescopes, although it’s a good 100 light-years away, the Swiss Astronomical Society said on Tuesday. However, the exoplanet is not visible even through the largest telescopes.
HD130322 b was discovered in 1999 by a team at the University of Geneva led by Michel Mayor.
More
More
Billions of worlds to discover
This content was published on
Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz were the first to discover a planet outside our solar system back in 1995. Since then, the catalogue of planets orbiting stars other than the sun (exoplanets) has grown week by week. Although the first photos are now emerging, worlds trillions of kilometres away are still being discovered…
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Porrentruy mayor comments on Swiss pool ban controversy
This content was published on
The mayor of the Swiss town of Porrentruy, which has been in the headlines in neighbouring France after restricting access to a pool to locals after a spate of anti-social behaviour, says he has received much support in recent days.
Swiss universities to release multilingual AI programme
This content was published on
This summer researchers at Swiss universities will make available a large language model (LLM), an AI programme trained on vast amounts of data, developed on public infrastructure.
This content was published on
After a one-year test phase, Zurich's cantonal police are introducing an online police station. Demand is high and the response from the public has been positive.
This content was published on
The chic resort of St Moritz in southeastern Switzerland has registered "summer" as a trademark under the name "St Summer". The resort in canton Graubünden is launching a campaign to strengthen its summer business.
Swiss authorities detail progress on station access for people with reduced mobility
This content was published on
The Federal Office of Transport (FOT) said on Wednesday that 43 stations had been adapted for people with reduced mobility last year. The vast majority of rail travellers (82%) now benefit from easier access to stations, it says.
This content was published on
The prices of homes and apartments in Switzerland rose again in June. In the Lake Geneva region, prices of detached houses rose sharply. Meanwhile, in Zurich and its surrounding region the opposite trend was observed.
Crowded airports expected in Switzerland this summer
This content was published on
Switzerland's main airports are preparing for a busy summer holiday period. A number of changes have been introduced to improve passenger flows that are expected to be well above average in July and August.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss scientists win Nobel Prize in Physics
This content was published on
Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics together with Canadian-American James Peebles.
This content was published on
Nowhere in Switzerland is completely dark at night. Increasing light pollution has serious consequences for human health and entire ecosystems.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.