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Our Solar System's Nomenclature Wars
RobotRunAmok writes "Plutinos, Centaurs, Cubewanos - the names Detroit has given some of their next gen SUVs? Nope. They are among the many colorful, and, some complain, confusing names which astronomers have given to celestial objects in the last decade. Ever wonder about the system of organization which astronomers use to name new space rocks? Apparently, so have many astronomers, because, according a Yahoo!/Space.com article, it's neither very systematic nor organized. Fear not: some clever star-minded chaps from Oxford and Cambridge have a plan to wring some order from the damp dishrag of astro-nomenclature chaos."
Been there, done that, got a QB10 t-shirt.
Using a numeric system. Let's see... the universe can be 0, stars can be 1, blackholes 2, planets 3, moons 4, asteroids 5, comets 6... That won't be confusing at all.
Ever wonder about the system of organization which astronomers use to name new space rocks?
No.
The origin of the word "cubewano" is perhaps the most extreme example of nomenclative amusement among astronomers.
Boy those astronomers are some crazy guys. I should invite them to my next rave.
Damn, I thought I was good at killing conversation with geek talk. Remind me never to invite an astronomer to a party.
To know that you know what you know, and that you do not know what you do not know, that is true wisdom. --Scooby Doo
Maybe they'll come up with something else as entertaining.
From the grandfather of the Roman Gods to the butt (pun intended) of most astronomy jokes. How the mighty have fallen.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
It's quite obvious that everything should be called Marclar.
Why not just auction the rights to name the crap off to the highest bidders? Just like our sports arenas. Why not have the IBM moon? How about the McDonalds Asteroid belt? Planet Coca Cola? CapitalOne "No Asshole" Uranus?
ST = Space Thingies.
Perhaps differentiated into:
TSTs = Tiny space thingies.
STSs = Small space thingies.
MSTs = Medium space thingies.
BSTs = Big space thingies.
RBSTs = Really big space thingies.
RRBSTs = Really, really big space thingies.
RRBAQESTs = Really, really big, actually quite enormous, space thingies.
Actually, the best way to solve this problem would be to set up an intergalactic version of ICANN, seeing as how they've done so well with handling domain names...
...begins with:
MST = Medium Space Thingies (formerly known as tiny, but that wasn't good for marketing),
and then continues with:
BST = Big Space Thingies.
XBST = Extra Big Space Thingies.
KSST = King Size Space Thingies (always written with small crowns replacing the dots over the i:s).
SSKS = SuperSized King Size Space Thingies (ditto, but has to be written in a larger, blinking red text).
Then, of course, there are the Kids' Space Thingies, which are quite small and come with plastic Disney figures.
I have a life. I really do. I've just chosen to ignore it.
I am sure there are a few IP6 addresses that could be assigned! I heard a rumour there was enough address space to label everything in the Universe. You can even end up with a hierarchical model. It would be very useful for routing those inter-Galaxy emails. Not as daft as it sounds.
That's OK, I have it on good authority that Uranus will be renamed in 2636 to Urectum.
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased