Newly Christened Planet Is Named Bernard

The Australian Citizen Science Project has recently renamed a minor planet to honor the founding chairman, Dr. Bernard Bowen of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). TheSkyNet won the competition during the NameExoWorlds organized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to name the said planet as Bernardbowen or Bernard for short.

Bernard was discovered on October 28, 1991, and was only known as (6196) 1991 UO4. The minor planet can be located within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and would take 3.26 Earth years for it to revolve around the sun.

Meanwhile, theSkyNet is an organization that caters to citizen scientists volunteering to help Australian astronomers enhance their knowledge of the astronomical discoveries. They stated on their website that "Its 50,000-odd volunteers entered an International Astronomical Union (IAU) contest to name planets beyond our Solar System."

They wanted to give their respects to Dr. Bowen who is considered as one of the Australia's finest science administrators with scientific works ranging from oceans to the skies. He helped bring the Square Kilometer Array telescope to the Western region of Australia.

Bernard wasn't the only planet the IAU presented to the public for its name proposal. There are about 17 planets up for grabs two years ago. Most are named after astronomers, educators, authors, poets, and theatrical dances, as well as the names and locations of astronomical organizations according to the press release.

For example, the planet (6187) 1988 RD5 was renamed as "Kagura" by the Okayama Astro Club in Japan traditional Shinto theatrical dance. The Mehdia planet was proposed by the Moroccan organization, Vega Astronomy Club, which in Arabic, means "gift."

While other planetary names are as straightforward and like the Brevardastro of Brevard Astronomical Society, US, or Thunder Bay of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Thunder Bay Centre, Australia has what people fondly called, Bernard.