Volunteers name new planet

An artist's impression of Pollux and the planet Thestias (NASA/ESA and G. Bacon)
An artist's impression of Pollux and the planet Thestias (NASA/ESA and G. Bacon)

Imagine winning the chance to name your own planet.

Volunteers from Perth-based citizen astronomy project theSkyNet have been able to do just that.

The group won a global contest run by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to name a planet that orbits a distant star.

They've called it Thestias - the grandfather of Pollux in Greek mythology.

Astronomy community groups around the globe were invited by the IAU to suggest names for 19 'exoplanet' systems spanning the galaxy. The suggested names were then put to a worldwide public vote, and theSkyNet's suggestion came out on top for one of the 19 planet groups.

Thestias, as it is now officially known, is more than twice as large as Jupiter and was discovered in 2006 by astronomers in the United States.

As part of the naming of the planet, the team at theSkyNet will also have the chance to name a minor planet within the solar system's asteroid belt.

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