Public told to go to hell, name Pluto's two new moons
A poll has been opened to decide the names for two newly discovered moons of Pluto, and so far the response has been phenomenal, the SETI Institute told El Reg. The two moons, the fourth and fifth found to be orbiting Pluto, have been provisionally named P4 and P5, but now the SETI Institute has teamed up with the International …
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I was about to try and get the first post
with a sarky comment aout how many fatuous suggestions would be posted here instead of posted on the appropriate site, but I see that...
Re: I was about to try and get the first post
"I was about to try and get the first post with a sarky comment aout how many fatuous suggestions would be posted here instead of posted on the appropriate site, but I see that..."
So you won't be supporting my proposals for Dagnut and Winnit?
Mind you, that fool Showalter missed the heaven-sent opportunity of applying those names to the couple of moons around Uranus, and instead went with some Shakespearean nonsense.
Inexplicably omitted from the article, here's the poll for your convenience
http://www.plutorocks.com/
Styx and Lethe?
Well, if Hadean rivers are permitted, one of the moons at least has got be called Acheron!
Re: Styx and Lethe?
River from Hell? That would be the Tees...
Re: Styx and Lethe?
Well, I was actually thinking of LV-426 when I said Acheron, but your point is also taken!
"River from Hell? That would be the Tees..."
Nah, that would be the river TO Hell. It's quite nice when you get up river into Teesdale and the like.
Hrm?
are things orbiting non-planets still considered moons?
Re: Hrm?
are things orbiting non-planets still considered moons
Well, things orbiting stars might get called planets or comets, for example ;-)
But yes: the requirements for moonhood are quite simple; be a natural satellite orbiting a larger body. Everything else is a bit fuzzy, especially as regards size (generally >1km diameter, but 1862 Apollo has an 80m diameter satellite) and size relative to its primary (where the two are similar, it is more like a binary planetary or asteroid system... Pluto and Charon are borderline), but there don't seem to be a whole load of disputes.
Re: Hrm?
FTR: I'm the one who thumb-upped you, mostly because I didn't think you deserved to be thumb-downed.
I liked your post, while mine was 1/2 in jest, it was only half. Your post was informative. I didn't know the official definition of "moon" was so vague.
As the names have to be from the underworld, then I vote for...
Steve
and
Jobs
:-)
Re: As the names have to be from the underworld, then I vote for...
Attempts to nominate current celebrities will not be accepted
Which might be a missed funding opportunity. How much would the highest bidder pay to get their name in the sky?
Are we naming all specks of dust now ?
Pluto's no longer a planet, are there public polls of everything in the Keplar belt too ?
Is this the XFactor for the Solar System - I'm sure I used to play a role play game that had a system for generating this kinda crap.
@AC Re: Are we naming all specks of dust now ?
Don't go hating on Pluto, just because it's a Mickey Mouse planet!!! (Yes, I actually went there!!)
Putting on my space suit before Reginistas blow me out the airlock.....
Twin moons
“the names must relate to the classical underworld”
Ronnie & Reggie?
Since we're restricted to the classics
surely that should be "Doug and Dinsdale".
Related to the underworld and Roman or Greek?
1) Acheron and Styx
2) Benito and Mussolini?
Re: Related to the underworld and Roman or Greek?
I had thought about "Dis" (term for Pluto, also Satan), but the other moon would end obviously up as "Dat".
"Acheron and Styx"
If you're going to name them for a pair of rivers, Phlegethon and Styx would be more appropriate. The water nymph Styx (for whom the river is named) was in love with the fire spirit Phlegethon, but died at his touch.
Re: Related to the underworld and Roman or Greek?
"term for Pluto, also Satan"
I suppose it's not worth pointing out that Abrahamic cultural appropriation notwithstanding, the underworld of the classical religious traditions was not, in fact, the Judeo-Christian Hell, and its ruler was really not the Christian Devil?
It probably isn't. After all, the lamentable 'Clash of the Titans' remake, and 'Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief' pretty much ruled that they're the same thing.
On the other hand, I suppose from a Christian point of view, 'Dis' being a 'false god', His name is as much a name for Satan as that of Mars, or Neptune, or Venus...
And here was me
Expecting them to be called Mickey & Goofy.
Stick with the dog theme
One of them has to be Cerberus.
Re: Stick with the dog theme
Yes, if for no other reason than to educate the young masses where JKR stole Fluffy from.
Well...
Yavin 4 and ... er ... hang on that's not a moon.
Bah annoying rules
Id have suggested xkcd and minutephysics
Cerberus and Hercules
What better than a dog fight around Pluto?
Unfortunate that...
...BOFH and PFY do not seem Greek or Roman, classics though they may be.
Re: Unfortunate that...
Do you think the BOFH would tolerate a rock where the internet connection has a multi-day ping time?
Re: Unfortunate that...
Of course, he'd proxy all the PHB's internet traffic through it.
Re: Unfortunate that...
Just follow some transliteration rules, and you're set:
Bophis and Piphys
Now, a quick edit in Wikipedia introducing these relatively unknown minor Hades-related deities *just* before the committee verifies the entry, and Bobus is your uncle.
offenbach
The pair of them. Cos maybe now they'll reconfirm Pluto's off-again, on-again status on the list of planets. Well OK, Orpheus and Hades it is then...
Re: offenbach
...but Offenbach is just a small shitty town to the east of Frankfurt, fast becoming yet another Turkish enclave.
Staying with the doggies...
...would surely make it Cerberus and Orthus, his doublet, especially as the rocks seem to be the same size, which means they must be brothers!
Wasn't Pluto named by Tonbough's daughter for the Disney character?
In which case, Mickey and Minnie seem logical...
Re: Wasn't Pluto named by Tonbough's daughter for the Disney character?
When they said underworld and hell, I don't think they had Disneyland in mind.
That said I must admit when I read the article my first thoughts were also Mickey and Minnie (until I got to the limitations bit).
Re: Wasn't Pluto named by Tonbough's daughter for the Disney character?
No. It was named by Venetia Burney from Oxford. And she named it for the god. At 11 years old, she was interested in the mythology of the classical cultures. Kids, huh? Tsk. Of course, then Facebook came along and made childhood so much more... something.
posh and becks
Would pluto be far enough away for them to go?
I don't think I've got the right Underworld.....
Barnstyle and Sappy's Curry
Shudder and King of Snake
Rez and Cowgirl
Emerson and Hyde?
So obvious - Mik3y & Minnie. Without them Pluto will feel rather lonely!
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