SOPHIE fans petition to name planet after late Glaswegian musician
A petition has been launched in a bid to rename a newly discovered planet following the tragic death of the musician.
Sophie Xeon, more well-known as SOPHIE, was born and raised in Glasgow.
She died after a sudden accident in Athens, Greece on Saturday.
The campaign created two days ago is calling on NASA to rename the planet TOI 1338 b after the artist.
Saturn-sized planet TOI 1338 b was discovered by then 17-year-old NASA intern Wolf Cukier in 2019 and lies around 1,320 light-years away from Earth.
Christian Arroyo, creator of the petition, stated on the page: “Sophie Xeon, known mononymously as SOPHIE, was a highly influential singer, songwriter, and producer who was a great inspiration to the LGBTQIA+ community. Her messages, actions, and music left an insurmountable impression on many LGBTQIA+ individuals. She always pushed a message of individuality and expressing your true self which resonated throughout everything she did.
“When artist renditions of TOI 1338 b (a circumbinary exoplanet discovered by Wolf Cukier and fellow scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center) were featured in the press following the 235th American Astronomical Society meeting in Honolulu, many fans noticed the similarities between the interpretations and the aesthetic sense of SOPHIE’s visual work, specifically the cover for her 2018 album Oil of Every Pearl’s UnInsides.
“I am requesting, at the discretion of the incredible scientists who discovered the planet, that TOI 1338 b be named in honor of the great LGBT+ influence, SOPHIE. Her fans would love to pay homage by having her name be remembered in this way and for her influence to continue to flourish for years to come.”
The petition gained traction after SOPHIE’s friend and long time collaborator Charli XCX shared the post on her Twitter.
She also took to Instagram following SOPHIE’s tragic passing.
The petition currently has over 55,000 signatures and shows no signs of slowing down.
You can read and sign the petition here.
