Leonard Nimoy could be remembered for centuries if one of the features within Pluto's system of bodies is named after his most famous character, Star Trek's Spock. His co-star, William Shatner, could also be similarly recognized for his character, Captain James T. Kirk.
Spock and Kirk are just two of the names for features suggested by the public for any discoveries found on Pluto or in its system of satellites.
The New Horizons spacecraft is closing in on Pluto for humanity's first-ever encounter with the far-flung dwarf planet. Currently, astronomers know of five moons orbiting Pluto, but they believe they may discover new bodies in the system as the observatory draws closer and see unknown features on the bodies.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the only body that officially names objects in space, has received a list of proposed names for such places. This list includes the most popular names found in voting held among people worldwide.
The Our Pluto campaign tabulated the popularity of place names for Pluto and its giant moon, Charon. Feature names for the dwarf planet were based on the machines and people who helped to make the exploration of Pluto possible, historic explorers and mythological characters from the Underworld.
Charon feature names included fictional explorers, such as Spock and Kirk, along with Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia from Star Wars. Also in the proposal were locales from science fiction and fantasy, including Mordor, the home of Sauron in Lord of the Rings. Fans of the much-beloved but short-lived television series Firefly may have the last laugh, as the home ship of that show, Serenity, is the most popular fictional vessel named. Not surprisingly, the Tardis from Dr. Who came in a close second. D. Adams may not be the answer to life, the universe and everything, but it could be the name of a feature on Charon named after Douglas Adams, the author of the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Names proposed for the four other moons include river gods for the satellites Styx, dogs for Kerberos, dragons and serpents on Hydra and deities of the night for features on Nix.
"We were particularly delighted by the diversity of the names that reached the top in the voting. I never would have guessed that The Epic of Gilgamesh would rank ahead of several popular TV shows. The list of historic explorers is particularly striking for its diversity. We think it is very important for the feature names on Pluto and its moons to reflect all the people on Planet Earth," Our Pluto reports on their website.
New Horizons is scheduled to make its closest approach to Pluto on July 14. This flyby should reveal a wealth of new features in the system awaiting names.
"If your favorite name is not on one of these lists, do not despair. We will be submitting additional names to the IAU in the future," Our Pluto reports.
