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For the Cervantes star
05November
Articles

For the Cervantes star

We have lived most of October with a parade of planets, one of the most fascinating phenomena of the solar system: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury and the Moon took part, as the latter approached the group of planets, and these were placed in a sector of the night sky, close to each other, until Mercury broke ranks and disappeared with the morning light.

But there is non cosmic news that we share: there are just days, hours perhaps, so that the International Astronomical Union to publicize the vote where there is competition to appoint more than twenty planetary systems discovered in recent years. Shakespeare already has satellites in Uranus with his literary characters.

And it is an act of justice the proposal of Pamplona Observatory, from the Cervantes Institute and the Spanish Astronomical Society (SAE), when the 400th anniversary of the publication of the second part of The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote is celebrated, which the first modern novel in world literature.

Because it is possible to get a star called Cervantes, and its planets Dulcinea, Rocinante, Don Quixote and Sancho. Until the closure of this magazine were recorded over three hundred and seventeen thousand online votes, and yet nothing is known about how many of us have voted for rebaptize the name of Cervantes to the star Mu Arae, and the four planets orbiting it.

Javier Armentía replies to our magazine, director of the Observatory of Pamplona, to thank us «the interest and the dissemination of this Latin American and universal project».

And he makes a comment in exclusive: «As the ratings are open until 23:59 pm on October 31, we still have to keep doing cabals. While it is a fact the echo that in networks and the media has taken the initiative of the Cervantes Star, encourages us to continue making noise and, above all, take advantage of the project to present some astronomy in Spanish to a wider audience, and remember those who live on the other side, the side of science, that culture is a common desire of all».

Therefore, we join the support of the entire Hispanic community to this initiative, and we salute from Art by Excellencies the decision of the organizing committee of the 21st Festival of Latin American Culture, held in the city of Holguin, Cuba, to support with a public vote in the House of Latin America, this noble effort during the week of this international event with delegations from more than twenty countries.

We urge everyone who can support this proposal, as we did with the vote to select Havana as one of the Seven Wonders of the World Cities. You can go straight to link the International Astronomical Union has enabled in English: http://nameexoworlds.iau.org/, then click on the vote. Or go to the e-mail consulta@estrellacervantes.es, which is in Spanish language, for any doubts.
And we do this for Cervantes, symbol of our language and culture, so he is forever in the stars.

José Carlos de Santiago

President of Excelences Group