August 22, 2011 Black Planet
 

Discovered in our home galaxy by the Kepler Space Telescope, TrES-2b is the darkest planet ever found.

http://cellar.org/2011/black planet.jpg

This Jupiter-like gas giant planet reflects only one percent of the starlight that strikes it.

Why is it so dark? That is a mystery the astronomers will enjoy investigating!

via National Geographic

Illustration courtesy David A. Aguilar, CFA

TrEs-2b, commonly called the Compton planet...

Don't hate it cos it black.

This is the name I like:

From this National Geographic article.

(For some reason, I've noticed that the first time I click the link it goes to the Store, but the second time I click the link it will go to the article.)

I fear that.

Let's name it Shadow!

Or Smokey!

Or Dark Black!

How about something more overtly racist like Spook?

Does it have to orbit at the back of the solar system?

It does need a better name. I wonder if you got a French speaker to pronounce TrES-2b whether they could make it sound like Tres toubee' or something.

There is a debate in physics about whether the hypothesised cloud of dark matter surrounding our galaxy is in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles or Massive Astrophysical Compact Halo Objects. Yup, WIMPs Vs MACHOs.

Science is mostly serious, but it seems you are allowed to have fun with the naming.

Foreshore. Just look at the subatomic particle names for the types of quarks. Charm, color, etc.

Quick, somebody get Leeloo!

mmm... Leeloo...

This is racist.

Geologists get in on it too:

Check out this metamorphic amphibole with the chemical composition (Mg,Fe)7Si8O22(OH)2, magnesium iron silicate hydroxide.

Oh for the lurve of gawd, I've found the mother load: http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/sillymols.htm

Dickite ... moronic acid ... arsoles ... fruticolone ... fucitol ... furfuryl furfurate ...

[/productivity for today]