Although they have only just been approved to the table, the elements were discovered a long time ago.
But names need to be officially given to them by scientific organisations.
Generally, new elements are named after the person who discovered them.
According to Universe Today, Copernicium was created on February 9, 1996, but its original name – ununbium – didn’t get changed until almost two years ago when German scientists proved its existence.
IUPAP accepted the proposed name and symbol for it on February 19, 2010, the 537th anniversary of Copernicus’ birth.
