Do you know the websites that let you name a star after your beloved one，your kid or your dog for a small fee?Yeah，those are all fake— you could pay me to "name" a star for ﹩50，and I'll take your money and show the name online. I'll even send you a fancy certificate!It seems that you've named a star，but it just doesn't count.
Actually，the only organization that owns official naming rights is the International Astronomical Union，or the IAU. It was founded in 1919 and based in Paris，France. It is where astronomers and other professionals have reached the agreements and is the official record-keeping body for all discoveries in space.
Recently they do open up an opportunity for the public to name a dozen of planets outside the solar system. These planets will be among the first to be studied with the James Webb Space Telescope. However，they currently only have boring and complicated documents that were used to find them. That's why the IAU is looking for something more interesting.
But before you start naming the planets，you should know the rules. First，nothing is rude or annoying. Second，the name should be less than 16 characters long and pronounceable in at least one language with no commercial or business names and nothing is named after a living individual or a pet.
The competition，named "Stars Worlds"，is open next Thursday，January 20th. It's the third such contest the IAU has held，and the purpose is to get the public more interested in science as well as the organization. The competition also helps to break centuries of European dominance when it comes to naming things in the night sky. So people around the world can share the joy of discovery and make their mark in history.
