Munro Schiehallion makes NameExoWorlds shortlist

Schiehallion's name means "fairy hill of the Scots"

A Perthshire peak could soon have a namesake in space after making the shortlist of an international competition to name distant planets.

Schiehallion has been suggested by Ayrshire Astronomical Society as the new name for upsilon Andromedae d.

The planet is in upsilon Andromedae, a system whose star is visible with the naked eye from Scotland.

The NameExoWorlds competition is being run by the International Astronomical Union.

Rival names suggested for the planet include Kuromame, Luyanta, Svadilfare, La, Caroline, Murasaki and Iris.

Some of the other names put forward are of astronomers or figures from mythology.

A Munro that rises to 3,547ft (1,083m), Schiehallion's name means "fairy hill of the Scots".

It is said to be the centre of Scotland due to its position close to the latitude midway between the most northern and southern parts of mainland Scotland and longitude midway between the most western and easterln points.

In 1774, Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne conducted an experiment on Schiehallion to estimate the mass of the Earth.

Exo worlds are planets orbiting a distant star

Astronomy clubs and non-profit organisations from 45 countries submitted 247 proposals for the names of 20 exo worlds, planets that orbit distant stars.

Ayrshire Astronomical Society has submitted names for the star and three planets in upsilon Andromedae.

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.

Online voting on all the names has opened and will run until 31 October.

The IAU expects to make an announcement on the results of the vote in mid-November.