Neil Armstrong is in the running to have a planet named after him (Image: NASA)

Neil Armstrong could be one of first people to have a planet named after them – and you get to decide. The International Astronomical Union, which oversees the naming of cosmic objects, has opened a public vote on the names of 32 exoplanets and 15 of their host stars.

The name “Neil” is one of 11 in the running for the exoplanet currently known as 51 Pegasi b, which was the first ever discovered around a sun-like star.

It was spotted in 1995 and revealed a new class of planet not seen in our solar system – hot-Jupiters, which are gas giants that orbit very close to their star. Other proposed names for this planet include “Carousel Hell b”, “Hydrogen” and “Yamasachi”, a character from Japanese mythology.


Names for each planet and star were put forward by astronomy clubs around the world and then whittled down by the IAU to create a shortlist for the public vote. Strict rules banned names of living individuals or those protected by copyright, which is why “Obama” or “Spider-Man” aren’t on the list.

Skirting the rules

At least one proposed name skirts pretty close to that rule, however: “Jaenerys”, after the Game of Thrones character Daenerys, has been suggested for the exoplanet HD 149026 b.

The surnames of science fiction authors Jules Verne, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov are also in the running for other exoplanets, and names from ancient mythologies around the world are popular.

There are a large number of Japanese names and words on the shortlist. New Scientist predicted this would be the case back in January, when we noticed that around a third of the astronomy clubs signed up the IAU were Japanese.