Pluto's five moons...a short video

P4=Kerberos; P5=Styx...Pluto's new moons

"Pluto’s Newly Discovered Moons Get Official Names"

by

Andrew Fazekas

July 2nd, 2013

STAR STRUCK

Back in February we told you about an online naming contest for Pluto’s two newly discovered, smallest moons (P4 and P5). Now, nearly half million votes later, the moons have their official names.

Formally approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the governing body that officially names celestial objects,  P4,  which is 15 miles (20 kilometers) across, has been named Kerberos, after the three-headed dog of ancient Greek legend. P5, at 20 miles (30 kilometers) in diameter, will now be known as Styx, after the mythological river that leads to the realm of the dead.

The new cosmic recruits join the family Pluto’s three other moons–Charon, Nix and Hydra–all named for characters associated with the Underworld of Greek and Roman mythology.

Both Kerberos and Styx were fist spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2011 and 2012, as part of a survey of the Pluto system in preparation for a NASA probe flying by the dwarf planet in 2015. The spacecraft, called New Horizon, is still 600 million miles (1 billion kilometers) from the icy planet. But when it arrives in the neighborhood New Horizon is expected to get up-close portraits of Pluto’s recently discovered moons.

Vulcan Controversy?

This cosmic contest, which was started as a public educational initiative by the scientists who found these tiny moons, turned out to be quite popular worldwide. By the the time voting finished  there were over 450,000 votes with front runners that included, other than the eventual winners, Persephone,Orpheus and the top vote getter – Vulcan.

However to the dismay of legions of Star Trek fans–and to the moons’ discoverer–the name ‘Vulcan’ did not make the grade with professional astronomers . It had been proposed by actor William Shatner, a.k.a Captain James T. Kirk.

“The IAU gave serious consideration to this name, which happens to be shared by the Roman god of volcanoes,”read an official statement from the SETI Institute, which had sponsored the naming contest. “However, because that name has already been used in astronomy, and because the Roman god is not closely associated with Pluto, this proposal was rejected.”

Within minutes of the announcement Shatner tweeted his disappointment.

"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

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 eventually bumped up slightly to a planetesimal.

Now, however, the little celestial-body-that-could has what appears to be a new pair of children, and astronomers need help naming them.

Hubble Space Telescope snapped some images in 2011 and 2012 that revealed two previously unknown moons orbiting Pluto. At this time, they are merely called P4 and P5, and astronomers are looking to rectify that. They are asking the public's help in naming the new moons.

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute in Mountain View, California, is heading up the name-choosing process. With the website  Plutorocks.com , you can vote for your favorite name.

SETI said the tradition has been that Pluto's moons were named after characters or aspects of Greek myths regarding Hades, or the Underworld. The three Pluto currently has are Charon, Nix and Hydra.

The nominated names to choose from are Acheron, Alecto, Cerberus, Erebus, Eurydice, Hercules, Hypnos, Lethe, Obol, Orpheus, Persephone and Styx. You can vote for those at the website.

You can still write-in your own favorite, however. There is a write-in form on the site.

SETI said the ground rules are: “Feel free to come back, but please do not vote more than once per day, just so everybody gets a fair chance to make their opinion known. We will take your votes and suggestions into consideration when we propose the names for P4 and P5 to the International Astronomical Union (IAU).”

Voting deadline is noon EST on Monday, February 25.