Vote To Name Two Newly Discovered Moons of Pluto

astroengine writes "The SETI Institute has launched a new website called 'Pluto Rocks!' intended to gather a public vote on the names of Pluto's smallest, and most recently discovered, moons P4 and P5. Discovered in 2011 and 2012 by Hubble, the two dinky satellites have concerned scientists managing the NASA New Horizons probe that will flyby the Plutonian system in 2015 — the presence of small rocky bodies in Pluto orbit might mean there is a significant collision risk to the high velocity spacecraft. This sinister back story will surely influence the naming outcome of the two new moons, where all the suggestions on Pluto Rocks! are related to Greek and Roman mythological characters from the underworld (but you can also make your own suggestions). If you want to get involved, there's also a special SETI Institute G+ Hangout planned for 11 a.m. PT Monday where two of the P4/P5 discovery scientists will hold a Q&A session."

That's easy . . . name one "Colbert" . . .

[PolygamousRanchKid]

. . . and the other one, "Colbert`s Sister" . . .

Re:That's easy . . . name one "Colbert" . . .

[dkleinsc]

Actually, I'd make the other one Tyson, because Neil Degrasse Tyson was instrumental in making Pluto no longer a planet.

Re:

[The Archon V2.0]

Oh, now that's just rubbing it in. Pluto's gonna be pissed.

Re:

[pnakotus015]

Actually, it was Mike Brown (Caltech Astronomer) who was the most instrumental. Though Tyson didn't object. So, Brown and Tyson.

Re:

[mog007]

Instrumental?

Dr. Tyson merely grouped objects in the solar system based on similar properties at the museum that he works at for their big multi-million dollar renovation.

His decision to not enumerate the planets was based on prevailing winds in the science circles already. The decision that the IAU made for Pluto's "demotion" was in no way influenced by Dr. Tyson's actions at his museum.

I'll name them for you...

[camperdave]

I'll name them for you...
... after you re-instate its planethood.

Re:

[aevan]

Yeah, really. That was my first thought: what the hell, first you say it's not a planet, but now we're back to moons? I know, call them dwarf-moons...or moonoids!
While whatever definition it's under might still have it be correct to call them moons, it still seems silly.

Re:

[jbengt]

"back" to moons? It's not like Pluot didn't have any known moons when it was demoted.

Re:

[aevan]

"This and the large size of Charon relative to Pluto has led some astronomers to call it a dwarf double planet". (wiki)
Didn't pay attention to nyx and hydra, since wasn't sure if the orbits were convoluted by the barycenter of the main two or not.

Name them....

[Surak_Prime]

Stewart and Colbert

Hmmm...

[B33rNinj4]

Lursa and B'Etor.

Re:

[Sussurros]

If you named them that you'd be making a boob, well two boobs.

Are they really moons?

[Jmc23]

Do non-planets have moons?

Re:Are they really moons?

[naroom]

That's no moon...

Re:

[MachineShedFred]

Han shot first, and Pluto is still a planet.

Signed,

1977

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

An asteroid field.

Re:

[Razgorov Prikazka]

>> Is there another name for rocks that orbit rocks?
`n roll

Re:

[dgatwood]

Is there another name for rocks that orbit rocks?

Groupies?

call one Tyson

[frovingslosh]

One should be named "Tyson" in "honor" of the dwarf astronomer who was instrumental in getting Pluto kicked out of the Planet Club.

Re:

[domatic]

As long as 6 or 7 other little iceballs get to be planets too....

This one especially:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet) [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[Kenja]

Was going to post much the same question. However, anything in space can have a moon since all that means is an object trapped in the parents gravity field. So yes, even planetoids can have moons. In fact, even a moon can have moons. But that would be very uncommon as a moons moon would most likely get pulled out of orbit by what the moon is orbiting.

Re:

[Raistlin77]

...In fact, even a moon can have moons. But that would be very uncommon as a moons moon would most likely get pulled out of orbit by what the moon is orbiting.

Why would that be uncommon? Our moon doesn't get pulled out of its orbit around the earth by the sun, nor do the moons of any other planet in our solar system.

Re:

[Kenja]

Proximity related to mass.

Re:

[Jmc23]

So moon is a superclass of planet? ...or you didn't think that through?

Re:

[i kan reed]

It's a dwarf planet, not a non-planet.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[circletimessquare]

non-planets have non-moons

LOL ....

[Anonymous Coward]

there's also a special SETI Institute G+ Hangout planned for 11 a.m. PT Monday

Now I bet that is an exciting awesome event not to be missed.

Re:

[NoNonAlphaCharsHere]

Yeah, those SETI institute groupies are wicked freaky.

Who cares?

[Compaqt]

After all, Pluto's not a planet, sayeth the cool kids in the astronomy departments.

Re:

[gstoddart]

sayeth the cool kids in the astronomy departments

Have you ever been to an astronomy department? ;-)

Re:

[Compaqt]

The point was a majority of people who happened to vote in some panel at an IAU conference decided Pluto isn't a planet. Given that, why get worked up over the name of a moon of a plutoid, one among many?

Re:

[arisvega]

.. people who happened to vote in some panel ..

Same procedure in law-making. Also in the patent system. Your point?

Re:

[camperdave]

sayeth the cool kids in the astronomy departments

Have you ever been to an astronomy department? ;-)

He means the toughs who hang out by the air conditioner.

Re:

[gstoddart]

He means the toughs who hang out by the air conditioner.

Bah, if they were tough they wouldn't need air conditioning. ;-)

Re:

[Sulphur]

He means the toughs who hang out by the air conditioner exhaust.

Orpheus and Euridice

[Antipater]

Those two aren't taken yet? I'm genuinely surprised.

Re:

[Celarent Darii]

I would vote for those. Also Persephone would be a good choice.

Re:

[arisvega]

No. Orpheus escaped, Euridice perished, and Persephone has a time-share between Hades (Pluto) and her mom.

Re:

[Intropy]

That would be a good pairing. I voted Lethe and Styx. My beef with the voting is that many of the names work much better pairwise, but you could end up mix and match. I guess that's only an issue until the next moon is found, but even so, Eurydice and Lethe just wouldn't be as good.

Re:Styx and Journey

[Overzeetop]

I'm okay with Styx, but the other one should be named Journey.

Re:Styx and Journey

[Jesus_666]

I think that naming moons after bands is a great idea. Hence I propose calling the moons Styx and Stones.

Re:

[mark_reh]

Except that both were among the worst bands ever recorded.

If you want to name those rocks after bands, how about Morphine and Radiohead?

Phlegethon and Cocytus

[columbus]

I proposed 2 new names: Phlegethon and Cocytus
These would round out the choices to include all 5 rivers of the mythological underworld

However, all of the other planets and moons I can think of are named after beings rather than places (mythological or otherwise).
So I cast my vote for Erebus.

Re:

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Those two aren't taken yet? I'm genuinely surprised.

Haha, I got exactly the same idea! :-) It's rare nowadays to find a proper name for an astronomical object that Styx so well. Oh, that was a horrible pun.

Re:

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Haha, I got exactly the same idea! :-)

A minor clarification: I got the idea before I even RTFA (and seen the list and voted). It sort of felt immediately obvious. But I think the choice is obvious for anyone with high shool education, so perhaps it's not that surprising.

Slash and Dot

[futhermocker]

But then they would probably get slammed by asteroids Troll and Shill

Re:

[Bacon Bits]

Those aren't asteroids. Troll is a comet. Shill is a black hole.

Penn and Teller

[Indigo]

It's obvious, right?

Tweedle Dee...

[Ashenkase]

and Tweedle Dum...

Insult to Injury

[Farmer Pete]

First the take away Pluto's standing as a planet, but it still gets to have moons? Seriously? Either it's a planet, or it's not. Make up your mind!

Re:

[grouchomarxist]

It also has three known moons: Charon, Nix & Hydra. This just brings the number to five. A moon is a moon regardless of whether the thing it is orbiting is a planet or not.

Re:

[sumdumass]

I think they prefer vertically challenged now.

it's too soon...

[drankr]

I still haven't gotten over Pluto's demotion. I just don't wanna revisit that whole thing. Moon, shmoon, whatever, it will never be the same.
Anyway I'm sure somebody out there's already got perfectly good names for them...

Re:

[phantomfive]

Yeah, I just call it a planet. What do a bunch of astronomers know? My childhood teacher taught me!

Names

[pitchpipe]

This is Not a Moon
and
It's a Trap!

Scylla and Charybdis

[erice]

Given the danger to the New Horizons probe, the appropriate mythology names would have to be Scylla and Charybdis [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[DadLeopard]

Darn! You beat me to it! Even though not Hades related, in this situation, they fit the bill perfectly! I guess we will have to wait till they discover new moons of Neptune for them to be in play though!

Re:

[nightfury]

There won't be a conflict with this [wikipedia.org]?

how about something really bad ass

[circletimessquare]

like the names of the greek gods for "fear" and "terror"

Re:how about something really bad ass

[Antipater]

You're in luck, then. Acheron (agony) and Alecto (rage) are on the list of candidates, as is Erebus (darkness - more specifically, the embracing darkness that envelops and smothers you as it drags you to Hades).

Re:

[circletimessquare]

thanks a lot, way to ruin my bad joke...

with an awesome win

Re:

[cyberchondriac]

Aww, but those are waaay too baddass for these piddly little rocks way out in the farthest reaches of the solar system. They'd be better reserved for massive asteroids with the potential to hit Earth - the names would very apropos.

Re:

[arisvega]

like the names of the greek gods for "fear" and "terror"

'fear' is taken: one of the Martian moons [wikipedia.org] is named after it.

Re:

[arielCo]

And the other one is named Deimos (terror); thus he was making a deliberate reference to the Martian moons. Deimos and Phobos are both sons of Ares (Mars), which explains the choice.

Name

[Enderandrew]

PlutoIsTotallyAPlanet
NoReallyItIsAPlanet

Itchy and Scratchy!

[bazorg]

too bad their poll is not more like Slashdot... I'd go for Itchy and Scratchy.

Flea and Tick

[Sunshinerat]

Flea and Tick would be my choice

Hubris and Calamity

[Ransak]

... from the BBC's Space Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets.

Re:

[hackertourist]

IIRC the second was Catastrophe instead.

Re:

[Ransak]

Was it? I stand corrected, it's been awhile since I saw it. Surprisingly watchable.

how about

[HPHatecraft]

Testi & Cles?

Astronomers gomad for them.

If they were really evil...

[The Archon V2.0]

... they could say they were keeping up the habit of naming them after elements of backwards pagan mythologies, then name them Belphegor and Asmodeus, and wait to see how long it takes for someone to get it.

name ideas

[PenguinJeff]

Rock1 and Pebble1

My on-topic vote

[Darth Hubris]

Acheron and Persephone get my vote. LV-426 and Monica Bellucci. Yes, indeed.

Should start with P, IMHO

[PortHaven]

Patron

&

Popov

Re:

[PortHaven]

Chilled and on the rocks of course...

Raxacoricofallapatorius and Clom

[bdwebb]

I am forced to watch Dr. Who by my significant other on the regular and Raxacoricofallapatorius is stuck in my brain permanently...it is a pretty awesome name for a planet.

Characters from the Underworld?

[LordStormes]

Pain and Panic.

Re:

[LordStormes]

Kraid and Ripley.
Bebop and Rocksteady.
Palom and Porom.
Mordor and Shayol Ghul.
Orpheus and Persephone.

My Vote

[TheSkepticalOptimist]

"Who the fuck cares" and "This is not a moon"

Easy: Thanatos and Hypnos

[Anonymous Coward]

Death and Sleep, the sons of Nix (Night) and Erebos (Darkness). Death or sleep are the two most likely outcomes of a collision, and Nix is already a moon of Pluto.

Case closed.

urectum

[locopuyo]

Urectum and Urarse

Chip and Dale

[fox171171]

Chip and Dale were always messing with Pluto!!

How about.....

[jsm18]

Pinky and Brain.

Christian mythology

[tverbeek]

How about names from another underworld myth: Lucifer and Beelzebub?

I like

[mark_reh]

Shiva and Kali, because I like Indian food and music.

Dwarf Jr. and Dwarf's Dwarf

[RedHackTea]

Dwarf Moons. Mini-me and mini-mini-me are also acceptable.

Funny thoughts of "The Silence of the Lambs"...

[vikingpower]

... do creep up. Wasn't "Acherontia Styx" the name of the butterfly whose chrysalis was in at least one of the victims' mouth ??

Re:

[Antipater]

In the film, yes, though the novel used a different species. But yeah, Acherontia Styx and its relatives [wikipedia.org] are so named because of that creepy skull on their backs.

the disney Pluto has relatives

[peter303]

But I could not google all their names. He has a brother named K.B. and five nephews, apparently unnamed.

Pluto was one of the most popular cinema cartoons when Pluto was named. It was named for Roman god underworld and fit in with his three brothers, father and grandfather - the other five outer planets. But the press at the time noted the connection with cartoon character with kids imagination.

A Simple Rule

[bickerdyke]

Never, Never EVER hold an internet vote to name something.

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110728-36581.html#.URluY6WzJ8E [thelocal.de]

Unfortunately, the article ommits that the local swimming pool was an even better idea, not only because Bud Spencer actually took part in a swimming contest in his youth at that very pool (IIRC), but also has that nice pun with Bud and Bad (= pool)

For honor and Disney

[ChrisMaple]

Tombaugh. And another Disney pet, Figaro.

Re:

[rrhal]

Chip 'n Dale - they are in Pluto's cartoon world "orbit"

Balance the budget ...

[PPH]

... sell the naming rights.

Mickey and Goofy!

[Zontar The Mindless]

</thread>

Re:

[Jane Q. Public]

No, Goofy and Daffy.

Or maybe... Goofy and Minnie.

Hat in the Ring

[ThatsNotPudding]

1) Thing 1 & Thing 2
2) Jack & Diane
and for the traditionalists: 3) Romulus & Dickhead

Fuck with Pluto

[RivenAleem]

Call them "Planet" and "Planet Too"