Voting due on Scottish entries and others in exoworld contest

Exo worlds are planets orbiting a distant star

A public vote in an international competition to name distant planets will start next month, its organisers have said.

Ayrshire Astronomical Society is among UK groups competing in the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) NameExoWorlds contest.

Names it has entered for a star and three planets include Schiehallion, a Munro in Perthshire.

The IAU said voting will begin in August.

It also confirmed that a problem with a website for the competition meant some submissions had to be resent.

The IAU and citizen science organisation Zooniverse expect to deal with millions of votes.

Results of the contest will be announced during a ceremony later this year in Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii.

'Fairy hill'

Exo-planets orbit distant stars and the IAU wants to find names for 305 which currently carry scientific designations such as GJ 832 b and CoRoT-1b.

Ayrshire Astronomical Society (AAS) is believed to be the only group from Scotland to have entered.

It has submitted names for upsilon Andromedae, a system who's star is visible with the naked eye from Scotland.

Moore has been suggested as the name for the star in honour of the late English astronomer and broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore.

Sagan - after American astronomer Carl Sagan - has been suggested for the planet upsilon Andromedae b.

The third planet, upsilon Andromedae c, should be named Clarke after legendary science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke, according to the AAS members.

Schiehallion has been suggested for upsilon Andromedae d.

The 3,547ft (1,083m) high mountain's name means "fairy hill of the Scots".