Philosophy
February 25th, 2013
SpaceDaily
In a voting campaign to pick names for two of Pluto's smallest moons one clear winner is "Vulcan," proposed by U.S. actor William Shatner of "Star Trek" fame.
Online ballot casting allowing the public to vote for the name of two recently discovered moons of the dwarf planet -- for now known as just P4 and P5 -- ended Friday, with Vulcan in first place followed by Cerberus.
Although a late addition to the candidate names the public could vote on, Vulcan piled up a big lead after Shatner, who played Capt. James T. Kirk in the popular television series and movies, campaigned for the name on Twitter.
Vulcan was the home planet of Kirk's first officer, Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy.
Officials at SETI, which conducted the public poll, said they considered it an appropriate candidate since Vulcan is also the name of the god of fire in Roman mythology.
"Vulcan is the Roman god of lava and smoke, and the nephew of Pluto. (Any connection to the 'Star Trek' TV series is purely coincidental, although we can be sure that ['Star Trek' creator] Gene Roddenberry read the classics,)" SETI scientist Mark Showalter wrote in a blog when the name was added to the list on Feb. 12. "Thanks to William Shatner for the suggestion!"
Although Vulcan and Cerberus won the name poll, the final decision on names for the moons will rest with the International Astronomical Union.
Astronomers have found five moons around Pluto so far, with three of them named: Charon, Nix and Hydra.
P4 was discovered in 2011, and P5 in 2012; both are only about 20 miles in diameter.
Vulcan [Wikipedia]
Cerberus [Wikipedia]
Name those moons...Pluto's children
- A Fuzzy Charon Visible
Scientific American's Christopher Crockett wrote... NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, now en route to Pluto, got its first glimpse of the dwarf planet’s largest moon, Charon, in this image released July 10. Pluto is the bright spot in the center...
- Placating The Masses...pluto's Craters
"Pluto's craters could get Star Trek names" Even though 'Vulcan' has been rejected as the name of one of Pluto's recently discovered moons, an astronomer has left open the possibility of naming some of Pluto's geographical features...
- Name Those Moons...pluto's Children
"Oregon Astronomy Watch: Help Name the New Moons of Pluto" February 11th, 2013 Oregon Coast Beach Connection Oh, the plight of poor Pluto. A few years back, the famed last planet in the solar system was downgraded to not even a planet at all, and then...
- Fifth Moon Of Pluto
This is significant for I envision New Horizons' dangers dodging small objects and curtailing a long journey. "NASA Hubble Discovers Fifth Moon of Pluto" July 11th, 2012 NASA A team of astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is reporting...
- Semi-official...pluto's New Moon Will Be Called "p4"
An image of the Pluto system taken by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 ultraviolet visible instrument with newly discovered fourth moon P4 circled, taken on on July 3rd, 2011. "Pass Out the Cigars! Pluto Is a Papa" by Michael D. Lemonick...
Philosophy
"Vulcan" and "Cerberus"...popular names for Pluto's moons
"'Vulcan' wins Pluto moon name vote"
February 25th, 2013
SpaceDaily
In a voting campaign to pick names for two of Pluto's smallest moons one clear winner is "Vulcan," proposed by U.S. actor William Shatner of "Star Trek" fame.
Online ballot casting allowing the public to vote for the name of two recently discovered moons of the dwarf planet -- for now known as just P4 and P5 -- ended Friday, with Vulcan in first place followed by Cerberus.
Although a late addition to the candidate names the public could vote on, Vulcan piled up a big lead after Shatner, who played Capt. James T. Kirk in the popular television series and movies, campaigned for the name on Twitter.
Vulcan was the home planet of Kirk's first officer, Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy.
Officials at SETI, which conducted the public poll, said they considered it an appropriate candidate since Vulcan is also the name of the god of fire in Roman mythology.
"Vulcan is the Roman god of lava and smoke, and the nephew of Pluto. (Any connection to the 'Star Trek' TV series is purely coincidental, although we can be sure that ['Star Trek' creator] Gene Roddenberry read the classics,)" SETI scientist Mark Showalter wrote in a blog when the name was added to the list on Feb. 12. "Thanks to William Shatner for the suggestion!"
Although Vulcan and Cerberus won the name poll, the final decision on names for the moons will rest with the International Astronomical Union.
Astronomers have found five moons around Pluto so far, with three of them named: Charon, Nix and Hydra.
P4 was discovered in 2011, and P5 in 2012; both are only about 20 miles in diameter.
Vulcan [Wikipedia]
Cerberus [Wikipedia]
Name those moons...Pluto's children
- A Fuzzy Charon Visible
Scientific American's Christopher Crockett wrote... NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, now en route to Pluto, got its first glimpse of the dwarf planet’s largest moon, Charon, in this image released July 10. Pluto is the bright spot in the center...
- Placating The Masses...pluto's Craters
"Pluto's craters could get Star Trek names" Even though 'Vulcan' has been rejected as the name of one of Pluto's recently discovered moons, an astronomer has left open the possibility of naming some of Pluto's geographical features...
- Name Those Moons...pluto's Children
"Oregon Astronomy Watch: Help Name the New Moons of Pluto" February 11th, 2013 Oregon Coast Beach Connection Oh, the plight of poor Pluto. A few years back, the famed last planet in the solar system was downgraded to not even a planet at all, and then...
- Fifth Moon Of Pluto
This is significant for I envision New Horizons' dangers dodging small objects and curtailing a long journey. "NASA Hubble Discovers Fifth Moon of Pluto" July 11th, 2012 NASA A team of astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is reporting...
- Semi-official...pluto's New Moon Will Be Called "p4"
An image of the Pluto system taken by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 ultraviolet visible instrument with newly discovered fourth moon P4 circled, taken on on July 3rd, 2011. "Pass Out the Cigars! Pluto Is a Papa" by Michael D. Lemonick...