"Naming" New Planets

Long ago, astronomers looked to the heavens and decided to name the other planets in our solar system, eight beautiful and creative names: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. (Yes, Pluto is a planet, deal with it.)

All of these names were derived from Greek or Roman gods and goddesses, and by these names the planets have been known for centuries. Today, modern technology is helping us discover new stars, planets and galaxies, but what are we naming these newly discovered celestial objects? "TOI-411 b" and "KOI-7368 b".

...Uhm... What?

NASA addressed my concerns long before I voiced them. In their article "How Do The Exoplanets Get Their Names", part of the article reads:

"Let’s use HD 189733 b (a blue-ish planet where it may rain glass sideways) as an example. The first part of the name is usually the telescope or survey that found it. In this case "HD" stands for the "Henry Draper Catalogue,” a widely-used star catalog. The number 189733 is the order in which the star was catalogued by position (the 189,733rd star added to the catalog). The lowercase letter "b" stands for the planet, in the order in which the planet was found. The first planet found is always named b, with ensuing planets named c, d, e, f and so on."

With the situation explained to me, I understand and support the need for designations. Designations help keep things organized, and once you understand the system, it's easier to differentiate between discoveries. Even so, I think planets need proper names in addition to categorization.

We have half a million fictional characters here on Earth, we should name the stars, planets and galaxies we're discovering after these fictional characters, just like the Greeks and Romans did. Imagine it: A small red exoplanet called "Zuko", or a dwarf named "Astro-Boy", a gas giant called "Skywalker", and a big purple and white exoplanet named "Zelda"!

If HD 189733 b was also called "Shatterbird", you wouldn't have to describe it as "a blue-ish planet where it may rain glass sideways" because folks would already know that Shatterbird is the blue-ish planet where it may rain glass sideways, just like they know Saturn is the sandy colored planet with a giant ring. Just sayin'.

The official article ends by saying:

"In recent years, the International Astronomical Union, the international authority for the naming of celestial objects, has started the process of adopting proper names for exoplanets. The first batch of named exoplanets came from a contest open to the public, and included about 15 stars and 20 exoplanets."

I think that is a good, baby, ant-sized step in the right direction. But what are 15 stars and 20 exoplanets to the total tally of astrophysical discoveries? Trust me, International Astronomical Union, contests are fun but hardly necessary. If you just use fictional character names, you'll never run out. Using the Pokemon franchise alone you can cover 925 celestial bodies. It's working smarter, not harder.