Star, planet named in tribute to Polish sci-fi writer

A star called “Solaris” and a planet called “Pirx”—these two far-off worlds have now been given names borrowed from books by celebrated Polish sci-fi writer Stanisław Lem.

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Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

The names were chosen by popular vote in Poland as part of a global campaign called NameExoWorlds.

The campaign was held on the 100^th anniversary of the International Astronomical Union, the authority that assigns names to celestial objects.