Many exoplanets have been discovered thanks to work by researchers at the European Southern Observatory at La Silla, Chile, whose telescope operates with the HARPS spectrograph
Keystone / Eso / Serge Brunier
What names would you give a distant exoplanet and its star located 100 light years away? The Swiss public have been asked to submit names for the celestial bodies discovered by Swiss astronomers 20 years ago.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/sb
Anyone living in Switzerland can sign up to the nameexoplanet.ch websiteExternal link to send in names for the exoplanet HD130322 b, which orbits the star HD130322.
Switzerland is not the only country asked to find names for exoplanets. This year on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has launched a worldwide campaign “NameExoWorldsExternal link“, in which each country can name an exoplanet. The IAU is traditionally the organisation that gives celestial bodies their official names.
HD130322 b was discovered in 1999 by a team of astronomers at the University of Geneva led by Swiss scientist Michel Mayor. In 1995, he and his colleague Didier Queloz discovered the first exoplanet to orbit a sun-like star, 51 Pegasi.
The star HD130322 is located in the Virgo constellation and can be viewed using a small telescope. It is a dwarf star like our sun but is smaller and cooler, SAG-SAS said.
The exoplanet HD130322 b is thought to have a similar mass to the planet Jupiter and is probably a gassy planet that orbits closely around its star.
The previous global NameExoWorlds campaign was launched in 2015, but was much smaller, requesting names for 31 exoplanets and 14 stars.
Over the past 25 years, just over 4,000 exoplanetsExternal link have been identified, a sign of the explosion of discoveries from searches with telescopes on the ground and in space.
Swiss central banker wants to boost equity to head off risks
This content was published on
Equity levels at the Swiss National Bank (SNB) are much too low for the risks its large balance sheet poses, according to Martin Schlegel.
Beer sales in Switzerland watered down by bad weather
This content was published on
The past brewing year fell through in Switzerland, partly due to the bad weather. Beer sales shrank again. For the first time, per capita consumption fell below the 50 liter mark.
Compensation for Syrian after pregnant wife denied help on Swiss train
This content was published on
Switzerland’s Federal Court has partially upheld the appeal of a Syrian family being deported from Switzerland to Italy in 2014. The man now also receives compensation.
Swiss-EU negotiations: Cassis to meet Sefcovic in Bern
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will meet the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Maros Sefcovic, in Bern on Wednesday.
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
Big sister for Earth found in neighbouring system
This content was published on
An exoplanet barely three times the mass of Earth has been discovered by an international team of astronomers including from Geneva.
Study gives new insights into TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets
This content was published on
The seven exoplanets around the star TRAPPIST-1, 40 light-years away, consist mainly of rock and potentially have more water than Earth.
This content was published on
Scientists have determined the length of time it takes the last of seven recently discovered exoplanets to orbit around its central dwarf star.
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.