As part of the IAU100 NameExoWorlds campaign, the names of 112 sets of exoplanets and host stars were announced on December 17, 2019 at a press conference in Paris, France. As part of the International Astronomical Union’s 100th anniversary in 2019, national campaigns were organized in 112 countries, reaching the direct participation of over 780 000 people worldwide, who suggested and selected names for each exoplanet and its host star.
The german initiative was supported by the SPP 1992. The exoplanet HD 32518 b and its host star HD 32518 had to be given names by the german community. HD 32518 b is a hot Jupiter, which is approximately three times more massive than Jupiter. The exoplanet was discovered by Michaela Döllinger, Artie Hatzes , Eike Guenther, and Michael Hartmann (all PIs of SPP 1992 projects) as well as Luca Pasquini.
The stellar constellation Camelopardalis, in which HD 32518 b and its host star reside, inspired a variety of name suggestions. A physics class led by Dr. Inge Thiering at the Max-Born-Gynasium in Neckargemünd suggested the name winning the german NameExoWolrds initiative. HD 32518 b and its host star will be called Neri and Mago. Mago is an ethiopian national park which also serves as a shelter for giraffes (or camelopardalis in latin) and Neri is a river running through Mago.
We congratulate the winning team! If you want to read in more detail about the NameExoWolrds initiative, please visit the official press release of the Haus der Astronomie