Jacob Aron, reporter
This artist's concept shows the Pluto system from the surface of one of the candidate moons: Pluto is the large disc at centre, right; Charon, the system's only confirmed moon, is the smaller disc to the right of Pluto; the other candidate moon is the bright dot on Pluto's far left (Image: NASA)
Ever wanted to make your mark on the solar system? Now you can, by helping to choose the names of Pluto's two recently discovered moons.
The team that discovered Pluto's fourth moon in 2011 and its fifth last year is asking the public to vote on a list of 12 potential names, including Cerberus, Hercules and Orpheus. Tradition dictates that such names are taken from Greek and Roman mythology and relate to Hades and the underworld - Pluto's named moons are Charon, discovered in 1978, and Nix and Hydra, both discovered in 2005.
However the team that discovered the two newest moons - led by Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California - are also considering write-in votes, as long as they follow tradition too. The final decision lies with the International Astronomical Union.
(Image: NASA, ESA, and M. Showalter (SETI institute))
Pluto still has a number of loyal fans following its demotion to dwarf planet status in 2006, but its history of public support began as soon as it was discovered. Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, who first spotted the planet in 1930, chose the name after an 11-year-old girl, Venetia Burney, suggested the Greek god of the underworld.
"I like to think that we are doing honour to Tombaugh's legacy by now
opening up the naming of Pluto's two tiniest known moons to everyone," says Showalter.
Whatever the eventual choices are, they will surely provoke heated debate. When we asked you what to call Pluto's fourth moon,
shortly following its discovery in 2011, we received over 500 comments.
Cerberus was a popular choice, along with many other Hades-themed
suggestions that appear on Showalter's list. Unfortunately for some of us,
suggestions such as Deathstar, Goofy and Yuggoth won't make
the cut this time.
Help name Pluto's two newest moons
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Help name Pluto's two newest moons
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Help name Pluto's two newest moons
