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…
Swiss football boss wants crackdown on individual hooligans
This content was published on
The head of the Swiss Football League says he prefers a harsher approach to individual hooligans rather than collective punishment measures affecting all fans.
Amherd: Council of Europe is ‘as urgently needed as ever’
This content was published on
The Swiss government emphasised on Sunday the vital role of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, 75 years after it was founded.
Swiss minister: Italy will back Switzerland in EU talks
This content was published on
Bern can count on the backing of Italy as it re-enters talks with the European Union on future relations, Viola Amherd says.
Student protestors at University of Lausanne continue pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
Since Thursday, a hall on campus has been occupied by students calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and a ceasefire in Gaza.
This content was published on
Swiss public broadcasters RTS and SRF are drastically reducing their communications via the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Israel: president of Swiss universities rejects academic boycott
This content was published on
Luciana Vaccaro, president of Swissuniversities, the umbrella group of Swiss universities, is not in favour of an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
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.