Trekkies Vote 'Vulcan' Into the Solar System

New submitter jollyrgr3 writes "If William Shatner gets his wish, one of Pluto's two new moons will be named Vulcan. The two small moons were discovered recently, and the SETI Institute launched an online poll to let people choose names. Captain Kirk himself suggested the names Vulcan and Romulus. Vulcan was accepted as a candidate, and Shatner exhorted his Twitter followers to vote. Vulcan ended up winning by a landslide, taking 174,000 of the 450,000 total responses. The next highest was Cerberus at just shy of 100,000. The names still have to be approved by the International Astronomical Union, as they have the final say. Leonard Nimoy approves."

Comments

FU Trekkie geeks

[GodfatherofSoul]

I'm starting a NEW poll for Wookie and Ewok.

Re:FU Trekkie geeks

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't you mean Kashyyyk and Endor?

Re:FU Trekkie geeks

[Anonymous Coward]

Wouldn't it be better to try to get the entire Pluto mess renamed "Alderaan"?

Re:FU Trekkie geeks

[Spy Handler]

Wookie and Ewok are not in Greek or Roman mythology and do not qualify under the rules, while Vulcan does.

Re:FU Trekkie geeks

[DarthStrydre]

Don't you mean the forest moon of Endor? I understand that the moon and the planet it orbited (long long ago) had the same name colloquially, but if we must be pedants, let us be truly pedantic.

Re:FU Trekkie geeks

[rokstar]

Traditionally its Roman for the planet name and Greek for the moons (Mars w/ Phobos and Deimos for example), so it should really be Hephaestus. The "rules" are some what flexible since Makemake and Haumea are neither Roman nor Greek.

Re:FU Trekkie geeks

[gmuslera]

Would be a trap to propose Death Star. That's no moon.

Re:FU Trekkie geeks

[aoteoroa]

Wouldn't Hoth have been a better choice anyway? Vulcan was hot.

That will just confuse things.

[khasim]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_(hypothetical_planet)

Vulcan was the name of the hypothetical planet between Mercury and the Sun.

Re:That will just confuse things.

[ShanghaiBill]

Vulcan was the name of the hypothetical planet between Mercury and the Sun.

That made sense because Vulcan was the name of the Roman god of fire. It seems like an odd name for a moon frozen at 43K (-230C).

Re:That will just confuse things.

[guises]

You can't name moons after gods anyway, it's against the convention. Planets get named after gods. Cerberus is the more appropriate name.

Re:That will just confuse things.

[erice]

Vulcan was the name of the hypothetical planet between Mercury and the Sun.

That made sense because Vulcan was the name of the Roman god of fire. It seems like an odd name for a moon frozen at 43K (-230C).

It doesn't make sense for the Trek reference either. Vulcan is supposed to be warmer than Earth.

Re:That will just confuse things.

[fph il quozientatore]

Well, since Pluto is already a non-planet with a God's name...

Re:That will just confuse things.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, since Pluto is already a non-planet with a God's name...

Surely you mean that Pluto is a non-planet with a *dog's* name? :-)

Re:Very Amazing

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

No, the thing that amazes me most is that Shatner has twitter followers!!

Shatner is a very funny man, who doesn't take himself very seriously.
Why wouldn't he have twitter followers?

Hrm

[Jarnin]

While I'm a huge fan of Star Trek and Astronomy in general, I don't think a moon of Pluto should be called Vulcan. Why? The name "Vulcan" is from Roman mythology, and is the name of the Roman god of fire and volcanos. Last I checked, Pluto and it's moons were too far away from the Sun to have any connection to fire and volcanos. In other words, Pluto's moons are too far outside of the system to make the name "Vulcan" appropriate. I hope the IAU has the sense to name this moon after something that fits contextually.

Now if they'd discovered that Mercury had a moon, Vulcan would be the obvious choice!

Re:Hrm

[FatLittleMonkey]

I hope the IAU has the sense to name this moon after something that fits contextually.

You mean like gods or attendants associated with the underworld? Like Pluto? God of the underworld. Or Charon? Ferryman. Or Nix? Mother of Charon. Or Hydra? Okay, Hydra's a bit obscure. Apparently Hydra's lair was an entrance to the underworld used by Hercules.

Vulcan and Pluto are related (I mean biologically, as well as thematically. Or whatever deities have instead of biology.)

Re:Hrm

[codemachine]

When I think of Vulcans, I think cold and distant.

So perhaps it works for a moon of Pluto after all.

these moons have been hard to find

[ozduo]

so please call one "G spot"

Trekkies jumping the gun

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a shame really that all those Trekkies are jumping on this bandwagon.

Just think how silly they'll feel when we start voting on names for exoplanets and the name Vulan is already in use.

Re:Trekkies jumping the gun

[FatLittleMonkey]

They did the same thing with the shuttle Enterprise. A drop-test glider that never flew in space. Well done boys.

Simply

[Sparticus789]

One does not simply vote Vulcan into our solar system. It is 16 light years away.

Men become gods

[Mandrel]

I voted for Orpheus and Eurydice. I thought it fitting that probably the last two decent-sized objects in the planetary part of the solar system be named after a man and his god-wife to symbolize humanity's progress.

WTF? It's a lifeless, cold moon.

[ggraham412]

Mythology notwithstanding, even in the Star Trek universe Vulcan is a hot desert planet. Not a cold, dead moon.

I also approve...

[Cpt_Kirks]

Make it so.

Re:I also approve...

[OzPeter]

Make it so.

You should hand in your Geek card. It was that pussy Picard who used that phrase.

Downgraded from fiction to reality

[mynameiskhan]

I guess now it is being downgraded to a moon of a former planet.

Since there's new Star Trek Movies

[Roman Coder]

In keeping with the new Star Trek movies, they should be called "Lens" and "Flare".

Re:Meh.

[Dins]

So start submitting articles...

Re:That name is HIGHLY inappropriate...

[bughunter]

The logic here is 1) that Pluto was Vulcan's Uncle, and 2) Vulcan kept a subterranean smithy beneath Mt. Aetna, which could be construed as the underworld... loosely.

At least we didn't get "Styx."

Laaaaaay-deeeee....

Bit premature

[mister2au]

We will take into consideration the results of the voting, but they are not binding. The discovery team, in consultation with the Nomenclature Working Groups of the International Astronomical Union, reserves the right to propose the names. Note that the International Astronomical Union has final authority over the naming of Pluto's moons.

IAU has the final say and would be likely to reject this name I would think for scientific consistency with their previous naming conventions.

And the discovers are not even saying they will propose this name to IAU - just that they will consider the voting.

So dont hold your breath !

Cerberus...

[Mr. Slippery]

Save the name Vulcan for a desert exoplanet. The Legion of Space, classic space opera by Jack Williamson, mentions a moon of Pluto named Cerberus. It's the only correct choice.

Re:Cerberus...

[Anonymous Coward]

Save the name Vulcan for a desert exoplanet.

A desert exoplanet will be properly named Arrakis, you insensitive clod.

Re:Cerberus...

[Anonymous Coward]

You misspelt Tatooine, you nerf herder.

Re:Meh.

[Tarlus]

Yeah, but this is astronomy and Star Trek, all rolled into one!

Fucking idiots

[geekoid]

These are the same idiots that did a write in campaign to have the first shuttle names Enterprise..even though it would never fly into orbit.

Oh look, it a references to a TV show I enjoy, we must mindlessly vote for it even though it is only a moon and nothing like the planet in my TV show.

Disgusting. If it was an extra solar planet? that would have been fine.

I say this and I am a Trekkie...just not a mindless one.