The Exoplanet Travel Bureau

Subject: The Exoplanet Travel Bureau
Author: Huinesoron
Posted on: 2019-11-13 10:28:44 UTC

Just in case you thought NASA was particularly sane... the Exoplanet Travel Bureau consists of travel posters for nine of the most distinctive extra-solar planets we've detected. From Kepler 16-b (Where Your Shadow Always Has Company) to the storm-wracked HD 189733 b (It's DEATH by a MILLION CUTS on this SLASHER PLANET!), there's guaranteed to be something for everyone, provided everyone is fond of hot Jupiters.

Hmm... browsing the index of Star Trek's star charts, I see that we finally discovered Vulcan last year. Perhaps it's time for a new poster?

Reply Return to messages

The Exoplanet Travel Bureau by Huinesoron on 2019-11-13 10:28:44 UTC

Oh! Actual exoplanet news. by Huinesoron on 2019-11-14 10:18:12 UTC Reply

D'you remember back in 2015 the IAU had a thing where they asked the world to name some exoplanets? That's actually why we have the likes of Hypatia, Poltergeist, and Dagon out there.

Well, it's back! Every country has its own designated planetary system, and (to greater or lesser extent) its own submission/suggestion setup.

For the UK, our system is WASP 13, a sunlike star in Lynx, and its sole planet is a sort of less-dense Jupiter. Naming submissions are closed, but there's a vote coming soon (this month, in theory). The planet was discovered in 2009 by a British team, so that's charming.

Over the pond, the US has HD 17156, a yellow subgiant in Cassiopeia that's in dire need of a new name. Its planet is actually smaller than the UK's, but six times denser (over 3x Jovian mass). It also has an unconfirmed second planet (looks like the claim is based on orbital resonance), so the name could take that into account. Voting is ongoing until, um.... today, in fact, and all except one pair of names is based on something native to the US (the exception is Yellowstone and Old Faithful).

Other countries can be found on the website, so pick out your own and - if still possible - have your say!

hS

The UK vote is up. It's... not great. by Huinesoron on 2019-11-21 16:30:10 UTC Reply

(The planet is listed first, then the star.)

Snowdon and Ben Nevis: okay, mountains is a theme, but who's going to want a star named Ben?

Shaogal and Breagha: Scottish Gaelic, 'world' and 'beautiful'. Okay, but... they're just Gaelic words.

Delwyn and Ceridwen: Welsh, 'godly friend' and a Celtic goddess of rebirth. I actually like this one.

FInlaggan and Dunyvaig: A couple of ancient fortresses in Scotland. I guess that's okay?

Elan and Galloway: Dark Sky Parks. Nice theme, but the names are eh.

Cruinlagh and Gloas: naming them in Manx would amuse me immensely, but 'Cruinlagh' means 'orbit'; what would you name a second planet?

Dalla and Kann: Cornish is great, but this is even worse than the previous two: 'Kann Dalla' means 'bright beginning'.

Thistle and Poppy: I suspect this will get a lot of votes, but... I mean...

Hafal and Recorde: Robert Recorde is the man who invented the equals sign ('hafal' in Welsh'). That's adorable, but again... what's planet #2?

Bluestone and Sarsen: Rocks from Stonehenge. All two of them. I'm inclined to think this was suggested by someone who's read Alastair Reynolds' books about the planet Yellowstone.

We get to vote for three options, so... I guess I'll do that with the kids tonight?

hS
I found the funniest country. ^_^ by Huinesoron on 2019-11-14 15:15:30 UTC Reply

The Pitcairn Islands - population roughly 70 - decided to get involved. Their NameExoWorlds national committee makes up almost 10% of their total population (by which I mean, there's 5 of them). They have the smallest population in the world, but by golly, they're going to name a planet!

Liechtenstein, accursed nemesis of fanficWorld, are also involved. I hope their planet is exactly as hot and miserable as it looks. ;)

hS
Where is it? by SomeRandomPersonAccount on 2019-11-14 10:22:36 UTC Reply

I can’t seem to find out how to search for designated systems with the link. Where’s Singapore?

Nevermind by SomeRandomPersonAccount on 2019-11-14 10:24:26 UTC Reply

Never mind, I found the system. It’s called WASP-32.

Ah, WASP-32. by Huinesoron on 2019-11-14 10:51:31 UTC Reply

It's an F-type star, which makes it 'yellow-white', or just a bit hotter than our sun. Looks like it's roughly the same size, too.

WASP-32 b, the planet, is another 'dense Jupiter', and definitely a Hot Jupiter too - it races around its sun in a blistering two and a half days!

Sadly it doesn't look like Singapore is all that into the project; their Astronomy.sg website doesn't even mention it. Also said website seems to be at least 4 years out of date, which is probably why. :) (Possibly they're just annoyed that their star isn't visible from Earth, which must be a bit of a downer...)

hS

Coincidentally by SomeRandomPersonAccount on 2019-11-14 11:03:55 UTC Reply

Coincidentally, we’re near the equator, so it’s very warm and sunny.

We’re also too small to built a launch shuttle. We need to deal with our housing and education and other infrastructure stuff. We really need more land, but I’ve heard that the government is considering making underground structures to supplement our ever diminishing plot of land.

Also Huinesoron, are you an astronomer?

I wouldn't recommend trying to fly to WASP-32. by Huinesoron on 2019-11-14 11:16:05 UTC Reply

It's about 750 light-years away, so even at Starwisp speeds, you'd take... ooh, factor in the acceleration period and you're going to be well up above 4000 years. You'd have relativistic time dilation to help you along, but the trip would only feel about a century shorter.

Space Is Big^TM.

As for me, I'm not an astronomer - I'm a chemist - but I think it's cool, and I did take an introductory astronomy course a few years back. Because space is cool (as well as big) and it's fun to think about.

(Germany has some excellent names to choose from; I'm particularly fond of the idea of naming their system Rose Red and Snow White, even though that wouldn't really allow for expansion. A lot of places are using indigenous names, which is a) very nice, but b) doesn't give me anything much to talk about, because I don't know any of them.)

hS

Rose Red and Snow White by Hieronymus Graubart on 2019-11-14 18:39:21 UTC Reply

So, the planet is Rosenrot¬ (Rose Red), because it’s a hot Jupiter and red = hot, but the even hotter K-type star, which actually looks red-ish, is Schneeweißchen (diminutive of Snow White), although it’s much bigger? I can’t see the logic in this. I don’t remember the specific fairy tale – is Snow White the older/dominant sister? That might justify making her the star.

My and Mrs. Graubart’s votes are on planet Neri and star Mago. The star HD 32518 is in the constellation Camelopardalis (giraffe), Mago is a national park in Ethiopia dedicated to the protection of giraffes, and Neri is a river in said a national park.

HG
Ok by SomeRandomPersonAccount on 2019-11-14 11:19:39 UTC Reply

I have no idea what that meant, but ok.

Space is big, but SG small.

You can’t find the country on a map.

How fun! by Neshomeh on 2019-11-13 19:52:04 UTC Reply

The Bureau will sure come in handy when it comes time for the Board to plan its first intragalactic Gathering. ^_^

~Neshomeh

Strictly speaking... by Aurora Morningstar on 2019-11-15 12:00:29 UTC Reply

all documented Gatherings, including the interplanetary ones, have been intragalactic, by virtue of remaining within this galaxy. I'd be really excited to go if we ever got around to planning any intergalactic Gatherings though; I'm sure there's many interesting things to look at all the way over in Andromeda, or one of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies if we want to go somewhere a bit closer to home. We might have to wait for them to locate some extragalactic planets first, though; all of the Bureau's current recommendations are fairly close to us, with the furthest, the 'zombie planets', a mere two thousand light years away.

[Mutters disgruntledly; starts researching even further] by Huinesoron on 2019-11-15 15:31:38 UTC Reply

Okay, yes, there is a geekiest galaxy, and once again it's the Eye of Sauron. It's a mere 62 million lightyears away, so just a quick hop by your preferred intergalactic travel system.

That said, I think we'd have to go for somewhere a little closer: Messier 63, a mere 30 Mly, which glories in the name of the Sunflower galaxy. What better destination could there be for the PPC?

hS

Ooooh. by Neshomeh on 2019-11-16 02:54:23 UTC Reply

The Eye of Sauron is so pretty! {X D I'm down to visit the Sunflower Galaxy, though. Are we traveling in stasis (again, IIRC?), or are we banking on Elon Musk coming up with FTL in the next ~50 years?

Either way, it's a good thing we'll have Amazon's addition to the Middle-earth franchise to add to the endless loop. ^_^

~Neshomeh, seasoned future space gatherer.

Nooooooooo, how could you? by Huinesoron on 2019-11-14 09:55:42 UTC Edited Reply

I haven't even finished writing up the fourth Interplanetary Gathering yet! And now you're sending me interstellar?

...

The geekiest named exoplanet is probably Hypatia, aka Iota Draconis b, and (obviously) named after a PPC resident. Of course it's nowt but a hot Jupiter; a better choice might be the four planets of Mu Arae, or rather, Cervantes and its worlds Dulcinea, Rocinante, Quijote, and Sancho. Quijote is a habitable-zone Jovian, so it could plausibly have habitable moons. Dulcinae might juuuust about be a rocky planet in its own right, though it's still about 10 Earth masses.

Or there's always the Bureau's favourite Zombie Star, because who doesn't want to stand on Poltergeist and look up at Draugr passing in front of Lich?

EDIT: Oh, or Dagon. Which isn't particularly geeky in and of itself, but does orbit around the Eye of Sauron.

hS

Astronomy by SomeRandomPersonAccount on 2019-11-13 10:52:10 UTC Edited Reply

Those posters on other planets are actually pretty cool.