Astronomer or stranger: an Arab name for a new world

Al Battani or Al Ghareeb? Local space scientists offer suggestions

Once it has been confirmed the discovery is definitely a planet, Arab names have been nominated for it.

“Al Battani, or Al Batenius, a ninth- century Arab astronomer, astrologer and mathematician, from Syria, would be a great name for the new planet,” said Prof Hamid Al Naimiy, an astrophysicist and chancellor of the University of Sharjah and director of the Sharjah Centre for Space Sciences and Astronomy.

Al Battani wrote many books on astronomy and trigonometry and his work was quoted by famous figures such as Nicolaus Copernicus.

Al Battani lived and worked in Raqqa, Syria, and one of his best- known achievements in astronomy was the determination of the solar year as being 365 days, five hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds, a calculation that was only two minutes and 22 seconds off.

“He made great contributions to the field of space and astronomy, and so it would be great to honour him like that by naming a new planet after him,” said Prof Al Naimiy, who is also the president of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, and a member of the International Astronomical Union.

“This is exciting news for us, because there are many objects out there, and the more we discover and understand our own solar system, the more information we get the more we understand about our own planet and about our history,” he said, pointing out that “Planet 9” was still a “maybe” at this stage.

“There will be lots of investigations going on, because for something to be called a planet, it must have a complete orbit around its own star, and in the case of the ninth planet, a com- plete orbit around the Sun,” he said.

The Sharjah Centre for Space Sciences and Astronomy will also be looking into this new discovery. “It is an exciting time to be working and studying astronomy and space and beyond,” Dr Al Naimiy said.

Ibrahim Al Qasim, project supervisor and manager of strategic research at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, came up with a more philosophical name for the new planet.

“Al Ghareeb, strange one,” he said. “Because we just discovered it and know nothing about it. Demystifying it will be an exciting journey.”

As the UAE prepares to send Al Amal, the Hope probe, to Mars in 2021, which will make the UAE the first Arab country to reach the Red Planet, the possibilities for discoveries are endless. “Who knows, maybe one day we will get a chance to explore it,” Mr Al Qasim said.

Both agree that the latest discovery should be a lesson for mankind. “The more we discover, the smaller we find we are, and so it should push us closer together as a human race,” Mr Al Qasim said.

Al Battani’s writing on astronomy and trigonometry was quoted by famous figures such as Nicolaus Copernicus

Frederick J Brown / AFP Astronomer Michael E Brown demonstrates the predicted orbit, in yellow, of the ninth planet at a Caltech seismology lab in California. He and colleague Konstantin Batygin reported ‘good evidence’ of a ninth planet on the fringes of the Solar System.