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

Wrong names

[ArcadeMan]

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

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:Shred of dignity

[White Flame]

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

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?

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

[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.

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: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.

[Anonymous Coward]

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

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: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.

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.