The IAU Selects Names for 20 Exoplanetary Systems

(IAU release, June 2023)

The International Astronomical Union’s NameExoWorlds 2022 contest has selected 20 pairs of names for exoplanets and their host stars. The contest was organised within the framework of the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The NameExoWorlds 2022 contest was set up to recognise and honour the efforts of the people who have been making it their life’s work to popularise astronomy in an accessible and publicfriendly way to their communities. The contest was open to anyone to form a team, implement an astronomy outreach event and propose a name for one of the 20 exoplanetary systems, each with one known exoplanet and its host star. The star and planet names were to be connected by a common theme, allowing other planets, if discovered in future, to be named following the same theme. These 20 systems were selected as they were among the first exoplanetary systems targeted for observations by the James Web Space Telescope.

The contest attracted over 8,800 professional and amateur astronomers, students and teachers, and astronomy enthusiasts in teams that hosted astronomy events. From intimate events for neighbours to large online lectures, the astronomy outreach events created for NameExoWorlds 2022 showcased the diversity and creativity that is possible in astronomy outreach practices.

Through the NameExoWorlds initiatives, the IAU recognises the importance of the connections between the sky and our diverse cultures. In recognition of this link and of the UN International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019, speakers of Indigenous languages were encouraged to propose names from those languages. Seven of the selected names are of indigenous etymology.

The newly adopted names honour native fauna and flora with cultural significance, for example, Batsũ (LHS 3844) & Kua'kua (LHS 3844 b), from Costa Rica, are the words in Bribri Language for hummingbird and butterfly; while Wattle (WASP-19) and Banksia (WASP-19 b), and Añañuca (GJ 367) & Tahay (GJ 367 b) are names of native flora of Australia and Chile, respectively, whose characteristics allude to the properties of the celestial objects. Selected names also highlight significant geographical landmarks: Zembra (HATS-72) and Zembretta (HATS-72 b) are UNESCO biosphere reserves in Tunisia, while Wouri (WASP-69) is a river in Cameroon and Makombé (WASP-69 b) its tributary. Some names also celebrate literary works, such as Kosjenka (WASP63) and Regoč (WASP-63 b), which refer to the work of Croatian writer Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, and Filetdor (WASP-166) & Catalineta (WASP-166 b) which refer to Mallorcan folktales recorded by writer Antoni Maria Alcover i Sureda. Other names celebrated folktales, mythologies and lore from around the world, including words in Maa, Cherokee, Taino, Zoque, Chinese, and Korean.

Several notable exoplanets were named in this campaign. The benchmark transiting exoplanet GJ 1214 b—one of the most-studied ‘sub-Neptune’ planets intermediate in size between Earth and Neptune—received the name Enaiposha, which refers to a large body of water like a lake or sea in the Maa language of Kenya and Tanzania. Two well-studied hot-Neptune exoplanets, designated GJ 436 b and GJ 3470 b, that orbit very close to their stars, but on highly inclined orbits nearly perpendicular to their star’s equator, and show observational evidence for evaporating atmospheres, were also named. GJ 436 b was named Awohali—Cherokee for eagle—referring to a legend in which an eagle was sent to the Sun by a warrior to deliver a prayer. GJ 3470 b was named Phailinsiam—Thai for blue Siamese sapphire—alluding to the blue colour of the planet inferred from the detection of Rayleigh scattering in its atmosphere. The recently discovered hot sub-Earth-sized exoplanet GJ 367 b orbits its star every eight hours, and has a density that suggests it is a very iron-rich planet like Mercury. It has been named Tahay, after a flower that blooms for only about eight hours every year, similar to the length of the ‘year’ for this ultra-short-period planet. Awohali, Phailinsiam, Tahay all orbit nearby red dwarf stars within 33 light-years of Earth.

The full list of selected names can be found on NameExoWorlds website.

A Franco-German Success for Ariane 5: the Final Launch

(from an ArianeGroup release, July 2023)

On 5 July 2023, Ariane 5, operated by Arianespace, lifted off flawlessly from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying the Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit for the German government and the SYRACUSE 54B satellite for the French Armament General Directorate (DGA). Flight VA261 was the 117th and last ever mission of European heavy-lift launcher Ariane 5.

The Heinrich-Hertz-Mission is the first dedicated German telecommunications satellite-based mission that will be used to conduct research and to test new technologies and telecommunications scenarios. The technologies on board are meant to respond smartly and flexibly to future challenges, to support future telecommunications scenarios and to be adapted from Earth to address new technical requirements and market needs. The mission is managed by the German Space Agency on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and with the participation of the German Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg). The Heinrich-HertzSatellit was mainly developed and built by OHB System.

"Flight VA261 was the last ever mission of launcher Ariane 5"

The SYRACUSE 4B satellite is part of the SYRACUSE IV program carried out under the leadership of the DGA in collaboration with the French Air and Space Force, and for the Space Command (CdE). Together with SYRACUSE 4A, it will enable French armed forces to remain permanently connected when they are deployed on operations. At sea, in the air, or on land, the armed forces need powerful and secure communications systems to be able to exchange information with theIr command centre. Thanks to state-of-the-art equipment including an anti-jamming antenna and a digital onboard processor, SYRACUSE 4B will be fully protected against the most severe military threats. It will help guarantee French national sovereignty while also supporting NATO operations. Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space joined forces to develop the SYRACUSE 4A and SYRACUSE 4B satellites so that the program could benefit fully from their combined expertise.

"This 117th and last Ariane 5 mission is emblematic in several respects. Ariane 5 has just deployed two telecommunications satellites, SYRACUSE 4B and Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit, for France and Germany, the first two contributors to the Ariane program," said Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace. "This mission is also emblematic of Ariane 5’s ability to perform dual launches, which constitutes the very core of its success, with 197 satellites placed in geostationary orbit out of a total of 239 satellites deployed. Over its career, Ariane 5 has served 65 institutional and commercial customers from 30 countries. Ariane 5’s success heralds a promising career for Ariane 6."

This launch also marks the end of the remarkable career of the HM7 upper stage engine, which flew on the first Ariane 1 and on the final Ariane 5. It helped power Ariane launchers 228 times, without ever failing. This veteran of spaceflight has been a crucial element in the European space adventure. It will be replaced on Ariane 6 by the re-ignitable Vinci engine.

Read more at: https://www.ariane.group/en/news/ariane-5-the-last-lift-off/

JAXA, ESA and XRISM

(JAXA release, July 2023)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has agreed to cooperate with European Space Agency (ESA) on the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission: XRISM. XRISM and the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) will be launched onboard the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 47 (H-IIA F47) on 26 August 2023.

The XRISM project, kicked off in 2018, is the seventh X-ray astronomy satellite program of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA. It aims at the early recovery of the prime science objective "to solve outstanding astrophysical questions with high resolution X-ray spectroscopy" of ASTRO-H whose operation was ceased in 2016.

JAXA and ESA have agreed to apply the cooperation developed through ASTRO-H in XRISM. In addition to contributing to the development of one of XRISM's most important instruments, the Soft X-ray Spectrometer, ESA will also support European scientists for their participation in the XRISM project. More details here : https://xrism.isas.jaxa.jp/en/