ASTRONOMY: Cyprus will get to baptise an exoplanet - Financial Mirror

ASTRONOMY: Cyprus will get to baptise an exoplanet

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Cyprus has the unique opportunity to choose a name to be given to an exoplanet, following the Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation’s (CSEO) accession to the International Astronomical Union (IAU).


According to CNA, a campaign will start soon involving the people of Cyprus, with more details about the exoplanet such as its distance from the Earth and its composition.

CSEO became an official national member of IAU in August 2018 and is now able to vote for decisions taken by the organisation.

The CSEO was given the honour of choosing a name to be given to an exoplanet, as part of the many opportunities that open up with its accession to the IAU.

The IAU was founded a century ago in 1919. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation.

Its individual members — structured into Divisions, Commissions, and Working Groups — are professional astronomers from all over the world who are active in professional research and education in astronomy.

The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. It is the world’s largest professional body for astronomers.