Thunder Bay astronomers send message through night sky

Truth and hope are now shining in the night skies over Canada.

Those are the names chosen by the members of the Thunder Bay, Ont. chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, who won the chance to name a planet and a star in the Andromeda constellation, through a contest sponsored by the International Astronomical Union's (IAU), the global body responsible for naming and classifying all star systems, and minor bodies..

"They rule the skies,"said Maureen Nadin, the chair of the ExoWorld naming committee for RASC Thunder Bay Centre. "They are the people who downgraded Pluto from a planet, to a dwarf planet." 

Under the present system, most of these exoworlds are classified through a numerical code system, rather than an actual name, said Nadin.

When the IAU decided to hold a public competition to give some of these celestial bodies names, Nadin said the Thunder Bay group jumped at the chance to be part of history.

They chose a planet and a star in the Andromeda constellation because it is visible in the night sky over Ontario.

She says the group came up with many suggestions, but in the end, decided to go back to basics and chose two Latin words. 

"They reflect the best that we have to offer as the human race, " said Nadin

"The name of the star is Veritate,which means truth and the name of the planet is Spe, meaning hope and so when you have the two together it means where there is truth, there is hope."
    
The Thunder Bay group's suggestion won the most online votes, which in turn, earned them another honour.

The chapter is naming another minor planet, most likely in this solar system, said Nadin.

She said the group was meeting again Tuesday night, but were considering naming it after their centre - RASC Thunder Bay.

"So the RASC stands for Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and then Thunder Bay. It is a bit boring but it would get Thunder Bay's name on the celestial map, " said Nadin.