The Taino Indian names Márohu and Boinayel
were approved for a star and planet as part of the Name ExoWorld, the global project organized by the International Astronomical Union in celebration of its first 100 years. Journalist Marvin Cid of Diario Libre proposed the names that were among the winners announced by the IAU on 17 December 2019.
The contest was organized here through the Dominican Astronomical Society (Astrodom), the local partner of the International Astronomical Union. Mayté Vásquez was the coordinator.
The Márohu is the Taino Indian god of drought, protector of the sun. Boinayel is the rain god who fertilizes the soil. The two indigenous deities are engraved into a stalagmite that can be seen in the El Puente Cave in Boca de Yuma.
The NameExoWorlds project gave countries around the world the chance to name one planetary system, comprising of an exoplanet and its host star. Each country’s designated star is visible from that country, and sufficiently bright to be observed through small telescopes.
A feature in Diario Libre on 18 December 2019, gives credit also to cave specialist Domingo Abreu Collado for having “rediscovered” the El Puente Cave.
Read more:
Diario Libre
IAU
Name ExoWorlds
19 December 2019