Why aren't exoplanets being named?

The International Astronomical Union is the only body authorized to name alien worlds, despite recent public contests, scientists say. ... The diversity of exoplanets is large — more than 800 planets outside the Solar System have been found to date, with thousands more waiting to be confirmed. read more

So far, exoplanets are just the very slightest changes in the amount of light reaching us. Expect them to get names like, for example, “Cutiepie” when we either: 1. Colonise them 2. read more

This is On Being, from APM, American Public Media. Natalie Batalha is a research astronomer at NASA Ames Research Center and a mission scientist with the Kepler space telescope. She helped discover the first approximately Earth-sized rocky planet outside our solar system. read more