New Moons of Pluto Named Kerberos and Styx; Popular Choice 'Vulcan' Snubbed

MarkWhittington writes "The International Astronomical Union announced on July 2, 2013 its picks to name the two recently discovered moons of Pluto, hitherto known as P4 and P5. They will now be known as Kerberos and Styx respectively. In Greek and Roman mythology Kerberos is the name of the mythological three headed hound that guards the entrance to the underworld. Styx is the name of the river that separated the underworld from the real world. The names, picked in a popular contest, were actually the second and third choices. The first choice was Vulcan, which was officially touted because it was the name of a Roman god who was a relative of Pluto's and was associated with fire and smoke. The real reason that Vulcan shot up to the top of the list was that was a choice by Star Trek fans in a campaign instigated by actor William Shatner, who played Captain James Kirk in the original series." Shatner is sad and may lead a revolt. Phil Plait wins the award for best headline for this news.

Comments

Styx Rawks!

[Sponge Bath]

Why must you be such an angry young man?

Re:Styx Rawks!

[BenSchuarmer]

Domo arigato

Re:Styx Rawks!

[Ol Biscuitbarrel]

Joel: Hey, c'mon, I'm serious. There existed a time when our nation took pride in its service stations. They gleamed like a beacon of hope from coast to coast. Then, ka-blooey, Sky Chief Super Service turned into the Tank and Tummy. I don't mind telling you, the day this country went self-service was the day Hell began to bubble up and flood the earth.
Crow: Well, I hate to burst your bubble, Joel, but what about the bubonic plague? World war? Stalin?
Joel: Well, those are all big things. Hell works better when it's a lot more subtle. Here, I'll give you an example. Okay, Crow, what do you think of Adolf Hitler?
Crow: Well, I hate him, naturally.
Joel: Right. Now, what do you think of the band Styx?
Crow: Well, they had one or two decent...Oh my God, you're right!

Re:Styx Rawks!

[sconeu]

I think you've got too much time on your hands.

Shred of dignity

[onyxruby]

Thankfully real space programs prefer to operate with a shred of dignity and class. Next thing you know we would have demands to name a moon somewhere after a character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

Re:Shred of dignity

[ArcadeMan]

We demand to have a moon called Usagi, just to piss off people like you.

Re:Shred of dignity

[White Flame]

Kerberos and Styx were the equivalent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters thousands of years ago.

Re:Shred of dignity

[spire3661]

Space Shuttle Enterprise (OV-101) wasnt named after the aircraft carrier........

Re:Shred of dignity

[rubycodez]

Ceberos was, but Styx would be more like the StarGate

Re:Shred of dignity

[dan828]

Well, there were at least 6 ships named "Enterprise" in the US Navy, and the likelihood is that when Roddenberry was choosing the a name for his fictional vessel, he named it after either the WW2 Carrier (which was the most decorated warship in US history) or the newer Enterprise which was the US's first nuclear powered carrier. So pretty much, the shuttle was named after a US Navy ship, albeit indirectly.

Re:Shred of dignity

[Somebody Is Using My]

Although if they are so interested in "dignity" and "class", then perhaps they shouldn't use a popularity contest to determine the results (or at least claim to be doing so, if they intend to ignore the results anyway).

The people (or at least the subset of the people who care enough about this to actually vote) made their voice heard. Claiming first that their opinion is worth listening to by holding the contest and then ignoring it when the results don't match their expectations only makes the IAU look doubly foolish.

Re:Shred of dignity

[ShanghaiBill]

Although if they are so interested in "dignity" and "class", then perhaps they shouldn't use a popularity contest to determine the results

They didn't.

(or at least claim to be doing so, if they intend to ignore the results anyway).

They didn't do this either. The rules of the naming vote were quite clear: the results would be considered, but would be non-binding.

If you don't like the names they chose, then don't use them. You and your friends are free to call the moons anything you like.

Re:Shred of dignity

[Antipater]

Unless the StarGate has a personified form and wasn't just a gate (never saw any of the series), then not really. Rivers in Greek and Roman mythology were minor gods who could take bodily form. Styx, in her goddess form, was a character of moderate importance in the war between the gods and the Titans.

Wrong names

[ArcadeMan]

P4 should obviously have been named "FDIV" and P5 should have been "Core Solo".

Re:Wrong names

[Type44Q]

I'd suggest NetBurstIntoFlames and Core2Little2Late. :)

Finally they are recognized!

[h4rr4r]

I am glad to finally see Styx get the recognition they deserve. I can't believe took this long though.

Re:Finally they are recognized!

[musth]

Yeah, Rush and Pink Floyd should be next.

Moon?

[RDW]

That's no moon, that's a [ FRANCHISE ERROR DETECTED - Resetting]

Re:So sick of popular geek culture.

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

I'm assuming that I shouldn't come to you with my "They should have named them 'Kerberos' and 'LDAP'" suggestion?

Re:So sick of popular geek culture.

[White Flame]

At first I thought this read "So sick of popular _greek_ culture", to which I'd agree. If we're going to draw from mythological names for astronomy, there are plenty to choose from beyond the typical Roman & Greek ones, both modern and ancient.

Don't blame me

[JustOK]

Don't blame me, I voted for Kang.

Some contest

[wcrowe]

1. I agree with the name choices because they make sense...

However...

2. What is the point of having a contest if you're not going to pick the winner?

They should not hold a naming contest if they're just going to pick the names they want anyway.

Re:Some contest

[ArcadeMan]

They should not hold a naming contest if they're just going to pick the names they want anyway.

Sounds like voting in the USA and Canada.

Re:Some contest

[Anonymous Coward]

Because this way, it's democratic. That's how democracy works: the upper class lets you vote for what you want before doing what they want.

Re:Some contest

[westlake]

2. What is the point of having a contest if you're not going to pick the winner?
They should not hold a naming contest if they're just going to pick the names they want anyway.

The IAU makes these decisions.

Showalter's contest was no more than a publicity stunt. That said, the rules were clear.

For two weeks in February, anyone with a computer could vote for their favorite names, or suggest ideas of their own. The caveats: Names needed to represent characters bearing more than just a passing relation to Pluto, the Greek god of the underworld, and must not have already been bestowed upon a celestial solar system object.

The People Have Spoken, and Pluto's Tiny Moons Have Names

Vulcan --- Hephaestus --- god of fire and forge, fails on both counts.

Re:Some contest

[BergZ]

When I look up in the sky I do not want to see 'Urrectum'*!

* I propose that if NASA must name things based on the most popular choice then eventually there will be a celestial body named Urrectum. It is inevitable.

Good on them

[Dasher42]

Vulcan is Hephaistos, the god of the forge. He has fiery, volcanic imagery, which is why when some astronomers suspected that there might be a planet closer to the Sun than Mercury, Vulcan was the proposed name. Really, Trek fans, a tiny icy moon of Pluto's was not the place to name after Vulcan, no matter how much we like Spock.

Re:Good on them

[sconeu]

Do I need to get a ticket to get to Kerberos? Or a ticket granting ticket?

Re:So sick of popular geek culture.

[Stormwatch]

Indeed. We could call it Jesus.

does shatner ever tire?

[nimbius]

Vulcan was rejected because it shared its name with a hypothetical planet inside the orbit of Mercury, and also because, as god of the forge, Vulcan had little connection to the icy moons of Pluto.

QOTD

[Spottywot]

Shatner is sad

Quote of the day.

Re:So sick of popular geek culture.

[ArcadeMan]

So what? The names used for celestial bodies all come from somewhere, we're all sick of millennia-old references from Greek culture.

Re:So sick of popular geek culture.

[Anonymous Coward]

No let's keep the Greek culture references. The next two moons discovered should be named Taxfraud and Bankruptcy.

Re:So sick of popular geek culture.

[arth1]

So what? The names used for celestial bodies all come from somewhere, we're all sick of millennia-old references from Greek culture.

The Uranian system doesn't have Greek names - Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Puck, Miranda...

And, of course, the Tellurian system doesn't either.

can a non-planet have moons?

[night_flyer]

serious question...

Re:can a non-planet have moons?

[BenSchuarmer]

Pluto is a dwarf planet (a celestial body in direct orbit of the Sun that is massive enough for its shape to be controlled by gravitation, but that unlike a planet has not cleared its orbital region of other objects). The definition doesn't exclude moons.

Re:So sick of popular geek culture.

[maxwell demon]

No, Jesus should clearly become the name of an Asteroid. One that has the chance to once get to earth and terminate life. Then even atheists can talk about how Jesus will come to the world and end it.

In Shatners voice:

[wbr1]

Im [pause] mad [pause] Scotty [pause] fire up the warp engines [pause] Uhura hail the IAU [pause] Starfleet [pause] anybody. Well get [pause] a landing party and beam [pause] over [pause] and fix [pause] this.

Re:So sick of popular geek culture.

[arth1]

I heard Miranda had some sort of terraforming accident, but is pretty quiet now.

Of course it is. It has the right to remain silent.

Re:So sick of popular geek culture.

[SteveFoerster]

Speaking of 80's rock, even worse would be a moon named 'Europe'. Oh wait...!

You definitely want to attempt no landing there!