Publicity stunt or interstellar investment project? US rapper Lil Uzi Vert announced on Thursday
want to become an owner of the planet WASP-127b.
The ad was accompanied by the hashtag “#Neuralink”, the name of a neurotechnology company co-founded by Elon Musk. According to Grimes, the musician and companion of Elon Musk, the rapper
almost completed his file to acquire the planet.
However, this desire for spatial ownership “has no legal meaning, or legitimacy”, details in 20 minutes Alain Lecavelier, astronomer. Besides, “perhaps the best answer is in the book The little Prince de Saint-Exupéry ”, he adds with humor.
In chapter XIII, the hero meets a businessman busy counting the stars which he himself decrees are his property.
Watch out for acquisition certificates
Eric Lagadec, president of the French Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics, also points out to 20 minutes the inability to own a planet. The principle is to consider the objects of the universe “as a heritage of humanity”.
The scientist recalls that the certificates of ownership of a star sometimes offered for sale have no legal value. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) also warns, with humor, against “companies that sell territory on the Moon and other planets”.
WASP 127-b is not really hospitable
Moreover, Lil Uzi Vert is not likely, for the moment, to set foot on WASP 127-b. “The star WASP 127 is about 500 light years away, and the planet WASP 127-b is a gas giant that circles its star in 4.2 days, is larger than Jupiter, and is 50 times the mass of land, ”recalls Eric Lagadec. This planet “is gaseous, very close to its star, so it’s super hot,” he adds. “Personally, I’m not going on vacation there! “
If you want to leave your paw in the universe, you can participate in choosing the name of an asteroid. The UAI, the only organization empowered to validate names, sometimes organizes contests to give them names that are more “memorable” than scientific names.
A person who discovers an astronomical object (star, asteroid…) also has the right to propose a name to the UAI. It is then up to the international organization to validate it. This is how Cousteau, Roger Federer or Brassens are spinning above our heads. At the beginning of July, it is Maram Kaire, a Senegalese astronomer of 42 years, who
had the honor of seeing an asteroid named in his honor. So, it’s up to you to scan the sky!