After 77 proposals were received for the designated exoplanet system for Morocco, International Astronautical Union IAU has announced the approved names of two Amazigh names Tislit (star) and Isli (exoplanet).
In recent years, astronomers have discovered thousands of planets and planetary systems orbiting around nearby stars. As a result, the International Astronautical Union (IAU) has lunched the IAU100 Name ExoWorlds project, offers the opportunity for all countries in the world to propose a name to one exoplanet and its hosting star. Names will be chosen by public voting carried out in each country. The chosen names will be recognized by IAU as official names.
“Tislit” is the name of a lake in Morocco’s high Atlas mountains, it means the bride in the Amazigh language, and it is associated historically with a heartbroken beautiful girl who wasn’t able to marry the love of her life “Isli” the bridegroom in Amazigh language and also, the name of another neighboring lake.
Legend has it that a young man and woman from two rival tribes (the Ait Ibrahim and the Ait Iazza) who fell in love with each other but but were not allowed to marry over crossing tribal boundaries. The lovers cried for years, their tears created two separate lakes, Tislit and Isli, before drowning in it together.
It is told that after that tragedy the elders decided that, youngsters from different tribes could meet once a year to find their soulmate. Even if that meant crossing tribal boundaries.
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