Pluto and three of its five moons

Pluto and three of its five moons

Contest seeks underworldly names for Pluto’s two moons

  • By The Associated Press
  • Monday, February 11, 2013 2:40pm
  • News

By The Associated Press

Pluto-naming contest: http://www.plutorocks.com/

Johns Hopkins University: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/index.php

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Want to name Pluto’s two tiniest moons? Then you’ll need to dig deep into mythology.

Astronomers announced a contest Monday to name the two itty-bitty moons of Pluto discovered over the past two years.

Pluto is the Roman equivalent of the Greek’s Hades, lord of the underworld, and its three bigger moons have related mythological names: Charon, the ferryman of Hades; Nix for the night goddess; and the multi-headed monster Hydra.

The two unnamed moons – no more than 15 to 20 miles across – need similarly shady references. Right now, they go by the bland titles of P4 and P5.

Online voting will last two weeks, ending Feb. 25. Twelve choices are available at the website http://www.plutorocks.com.

Among the choices: Hercules, the hero who slew Hydra; Obol, the coin put in the mouths of the dead as payment to Charon; Cerebrus, the three-headed dog guarding the gates of the underworld; Orpheus, the musician and poet who used his talents to get his wife, Eurydice, out of the underworld only to lose her by looking back: Eurydice; and Styx, the river to the underworld.

As of Monday afternoon, Styx and Cerebrus were leading. The vote tally is updated hourly.

“The Greeks were great storytellers, and they have given us a colorful cast of characters to work with,” said Mark Showalter, senior research scientist at SETI Institute’s Carl Sagan Center in Mountain View, Calif.

He and other astronomers who discovered the two mini-moons using the Hubble Space Telescope will make the winning selections.

Write-in name suggestions are welcomed, but they need to come from Greek or Roman mythology and deal with the underworld.

The name for the planetoid, or dwarf planet near the outer fringes of the solar system came from a little English girl.

Pluto’s discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh, liked that the first two letters were the same as the initials of late American astronomer Percival Lowell.

Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930 using the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is en route to Pluto, arriving in 2015 on the first robotic flyby ever of the planetoid.

The winning moon names will need final approval by the International Astronomical Union.

Hopefully, there won’t be any conflicts like when the name Nix was picked.

The night goddess actually is spelled Nyx, but an asteroid already had the moniker so the proper spelling for the moon had to be nixed.

More in News

Two people were displaced after a house fire in the 4700 block of West Valley Road in Chimacum on Thursday. No injuries were reported. (East Jefferson Fire Rescue)
Two displaced after Chimacum house fire

One person evacuated safely along with two pets from a… Continue reading

A Port Angeles city worker places a tree topper on the city’s Christmas tree, located at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain at the intersection of Laurel and First streets. A holiday street party is scheduled to take place in downtown Port Angeles from noon to 7 p.m. Nov. 30 with the tree lighting scheduled for about 5 p.m. (Emma Maple/Peninsula Daily News)
Top of the town

A Port Angeles city worker places a tree topper on the city’s… Continue reading

Hospital board passes budget

OMC projecting a $2.9 million deficit

Lighthouse keeper Mel Carter next to the original 1879 Fresnel lens in the lamp room at the Point Wilson Lighthouse. (Elijah Sussman/Peninsula Daily News)
Donations to aid pediatrics clinic, workforce

Recipients thank donors at hospital commissioners’ meeting

Whitefeather Way intersection closed at Highway 101

Construction crews have closed the intersection of Whitefeather Way and… Continue reading

EYE ON THE PENINSULA: Commissioners to consider levies, budgets

Meetings across the North Olympic Peninsula

Highway 112 partially reopens to single-lane traffic

Maintenance crews have reopened state Highway 112 between Sekiu… Continue reading

Laken Folsom, a Winter Ice Village employee, tries to remove leaves that blew in from this week’s wind storm before they freeze into the surface of the rink on Thursday. The Winter Ice Village, operated by the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce in the 100 block of West Front Street, opens today and runs through Jan. 5. Hours are from noon to 9 p.m. daily. New this year is camera showing the current ice village conditions at www.skatecam.org. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Ice village opens in Port Angeles

Laken Folsom, a Winter Ice Village employee, tries to remove leaves that… Continue reading

Fort PDA receiver protecting assets

Principal: New revenue streams needed

Ella Biss, 4, sits next to her adoptive mother, Alexis Biss, as they wait in Clallam County Family Court on Thursday for the commencement of the ceremony that will formalize the adoption of Ella and her 9-year-old brother John. (Emma Maple/Peninsula Daily News)
Adoption ceremony highlights need for Peninsula foster families

State department says there’s a lack of foster homes for older children, babies

Legislature to decide fate of miscalculation

Peninsula College may have to repay $339K