Star and planet named after Harry Martinson works

Aniara and Isagel. So is the star and the exoplanet (a name for planets outside our solar system) now called by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to name Sweden in the framework of the project "Name Exoworlds".

The IAU is responsible for giving celestial bodies official names, and to celebrate its 100th anniversary, 112 countries were tasked with organizing national polls to name celestial bodies in other solar systems. In total, around 780,000 people worldwide participated in the polls.

In Sweden, 7,161 people voted on 1,639 proposals. The star was named Aniara, which is the title of the poet Harry Martinson's 1956 space depot, and also the name of a spaceship that appears in the work. Isagel, to which the planet was named, is the name of the pilot in front of the spaceship.

The star Aniara, with the formal designation HD102956, is located in the center of the Caravan in the constellation Big Bear, around 400 light years away. It is bright enough to be seen with a field binoculars from a dark place.