Planet Name Generator

Expand your solar systems with this random planet name generator

Earth, Saturn, Uranus and Venus are just a selection of planets in our solar system, many named after gods in Roman mythology. But what do you do when your story travels beyond this solar system into uncharted territory? All of a sudden you encounter exoplanets, some in single-star systems, others in multiple-star systems. There's millions if not billions of them out there; how do you possibly come up with appealing names for all of them? Simple: you use this planet naming generator to help you out.

Made up names for planets to suit your universes

Maybe you're playing No Man's Sky, Spore or Warhammer 40k and are lacking inspiration for a cool planet name. Perhaps you're writing your next sci-fi adventure and need identifiers for a new group of exoplanets. Be it games or stories, this generator will provide thousands of ideas for you to use, all made up of a combination of a regular random planet name idea and a randomly generated identifier. Use whichever part you like and keep clicking that generator button to find the perfect match for you.

Astronomical planet naming conventions

Historically, our Sun and Moon, easy-to-see planets and a handful of stars received names. Without the proper equipment to explore the vastness of space, people simply didn't have the option to extend their knowledge from hundreds to the now more than a billion astronomical objects we know.

With so many objects to identify in outer space, it became necessary for astronomers to come up with a system to easily identify all of them, not only by name but by features and level of importance to researchers. This is where the International Astronomical Union (IAU) comes into play. They hold the authority to create and expand this designation system for planets, stars and any other kinds of celestial bodies.

For example, exoplanet naming conventions dictate that they should be identified by using the name of the star they orbit and then adding a lowercase letter. This is of course not very exciting, which is why the IAU launched a program in 2014 to gather input from the worldwide community, letting people from all over submit and vote on new proper names for exoplanets. A small selection of names that were chosen:

• Amateru
• Brahe
• Dagon
• Hypatia
• Meztli

What's the best fit for your adventure? Will you go with a designation system or proper names for your planets?

How are planets formed?

One of astronomy's most mysterious and intriguing aspects is the formation of planets. Scientists have been able to make some progress in our comprehension of the process by which planets are formed, despite the fact that the precise method of planet formation is still the subject of extensive research. Gas and dust were the only things in the universe when it first began to exist. As a result of their own gravity, these gas and dust disks began to spin at an ever-increasing rate and began to swirl. Pockets within the disk began to break down the matter into much smaller objects, like dust particles, as the contraction and spinning increased. Planetesimals are larger objects formed by the dust particles in these pockets sticking together over time. Accumulation is the term for this process. Planetesimals grew in size and began colliding with one another, becoming even larger, as they continued to accumulate more material. Planets in our solar system are the result of a series of collisions and fusions that resulted in ever-larger bodies. The planets became more distinct as they grew. This indicates that each planet's core would become denser than the material in its outer layers as a result of their gravity. The planet's mantle and crust would be made of lighter material from the outer layer, while the core would be made of heavier material from the core. Then, the planets would be able to keep the solar energy they needed to form. The planets were then given distinct atmospheres based on their composition, distance from the sun, and history of formation. For instance, carbon dioxide makes up the majority of Venus' atmosphere, while nitrogen and oxygen make up the majority of Earth's. There are still some planetesimals in our solar system that are too small to be planets. The asteroid belt is made up of these that remain in the solar system's outermost regions. The formation of planets is a fascinating process that serves as an excellent reminder of our planet's humble beginnings. There is still a great deal of research to be done in order to fully comprehend this amazing process, despite the fact that scientists have made significant progress in their understanding of how planets are formed. In the end, understanding the formation of planets is crucial to our comprehension of the universe and our own existence within it. We will learn more about our universe and possibly provide an answer to the age-old question of how planets are formed as we continue our organic and space exploration.

5 questions to help you come up with planet names

1. What type of environment does the planet have?
2. Are there any natural resources or unique features on the planet?
3. What kind of creatures live on the planet?
4. Does the planet's name reference any mythological creatures or figures?
5. What would be the ideal mood or atmosphere on the planet?

Can I use the random planet names that this tool creates?

Yes you can. The Story Shack claims no copyright on any of these names, but it is of course possible that some of the values this name generator provides are already owned by anyone else, so please make sure to always do your due diligence.

How many ideas can I generate with this Planet Name Generator?

The Planet Name Generator can generate thousands of ideas for your project, so feel free to keep clicking and at the end use the handy copy feature to export your planet names to a text editor of your choice. Enjoy!

What are good planet names?

There's thousands of random planet names in this generator. Here are some samples to start:

More on planet names across the web

Can't get enough of generating planet names? Then continue exploring:

• scifiideas.com
• fakedetail.com