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Neil deGrasse Tyson reveals clever names for 7 newly discovered exoplanets

Illustration from NASA via Getty Images
Illustration from NASA via Getty Images

Science nerds have had a thrilling week thanks to NASA’s big planetary announcement.

On Wednesday, the U.S. government agency unveiled details regarding Trappist-1, a dwarf star dimly burning nearly 40 light years away.

The distant star is circled by seven Earth-sized exoplanets, and the solar system has quickly become a compelling one for space fans. Scientists are excited about the discovery because some of the planets are orbiting the star within a range that could support liquid water and the potential for life.

It’s also a tantalizing revelation because now we can all start dreaming up names for the seven new planets we may one day call home.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, a well-known astrophysicist and host of the TV show Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, was one of the first people to weigh in on possible names for these seven planets with this humdinger of a suggestion:

And it didn’t take long for other ideas to start rolling in online, as you can see below.

As it turns out, there are a lot things that come clustered in seven. Here are just a few groupings that Reddit user poeiradasestrelas compiled:

  • Seven virtues in Christianity

  • Seven classical planets

  • Seven heavens

  • Seven days of the week

  • Seven colours in the rainbow

  • Seven seas

  • Seven wonders of world

  • Seven continents

  • Seven pure notes in the diatonic scale

  • Seven kings of Rome

  • Seven liberal arts

  • Seven sages of Greece

  • Seven sages of ancient India

While the options seem endless, the more than 85,000 likes the astrophysicist received on his Twitter post in just one day appear to indicate that many want his idea to win out.

After all, who wouldn’t want to live on a planet called “Happy”?