The star, which to this day was known only as BD+14 4559, was named “Solaris” after a famed 1961 science fiction novel by Lem. The planet orbiting “Solaris” has been dubbed “Pirx,” after the protagonist of the writer’s well-known 1965 collection of stories Tales of Pirx the Pilot.
The names of the star and the planet, discovered by a team of Polish astronomers ten years ago, have been chosen in a contest announced earlier this year by the International Astronomical Union, the world’s official authority for assigning names to celestial objects.
Lem died in 2006 in Kraków at the age of 85. His books dealt with the future of planet Earth and the human species and have been translated into more than 40 languages.
His work, which also included short stories and philosophical essays, has inspired a number of films, including Solaris, a 2002 movie by Steven Soderbergh which featured George Clooney.
His other acclaimed books include Return from the Stars, The Cyberiad and The Chain of Chance.
(jh/pk)
Source: IAR