Hundreds of newly discovered exoplanets are losing their numbers-based titles for proper names

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Some 4,000 possible exoplanets have been discovered in the Milky Way since 1995, by spacecraft like Nasa's Kepler and Tess and by telescopes on the ground; by extrapolation, there could be billions of possibly habitable worlds in our galaxy alone. “The one in Greece already received 1,500 entries during the weekend.” Stephen Pompea of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, who heads the US naming campaign, says names started coming in as soon as the programme was announced. open image in gallery NGC 253, also known as the Sculptor Galaxy, is over 11 million light years away By astronomical tradition, whoever discovers a new planet or moon is entitled to suggest names for it to the IAU. “What’s cool for the proposers is that the names become official names.” All the exoplanets on the new list were discovered before 2012.