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NASA's New Horizons mission is nearing Pluto, and will be at its closest in mid-July. At last, we will learn about the former planet / current dwarf planet / gateway to the Kuiper Belt. Instead of two bodies with blurred features, we will see Pluto and its major moon Charon with surface detail. But places on maps need names. The public can suggest relevant names to use on Pluto and vote for them.

Here is the voter's guide and it's very interesting. I've learned lots of new things. The closing date is April 7, so don't procrastinate if you're interested!

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Parents and teachers, this might interest you.

There is a Kids' ballot too. It says, "Vote for your favorite stories, TV shows and movies by checking the box next to each name. Your votes will help us to decide which names are used on Pluto and Charon."

It's a good idea, but I wonder who chose the list. I don't think this list is what kids are watching/reading these days. For example, my students had read Phillip Pullman's had read Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (not included in the ballot), but not Jules Verne.

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Pluto is the Roman name for Hades, god of the Underworld. Some people these days use "Hades" as a euphemism for Hell, but in ancient times the world of the dead was just where dead people went. It didn't have connotations of damnation and punishment. Features on Pluto will be named using the following categories:
  • Names for the Underworld from the world's mythologies
  • Gods, goddesses, and dwarfs associated with the Underworld
  • Heroes and other explorers of the Underworld
  • Writers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt
  • Scientists and engineers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt

For Pluto's big moon Charon, they're looking for:
  • Destinations and milestones of fictional space and other exploration
  • Fictional and mythological vessels of space and other exploration
  • Fictional and mythological voyagers, travelers and explorers

Voting finishes April 7.

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Pluto also has four tiny moons.

Styx (Charon was the ferryman who took the dead over the river Styx to the Underworld)
Place names will be based on river gods.

Nix (Goddess of the night, mother of Charon)
Place names to be based on deities of the night.

Kerberos (Three-headed dog guarding the entrance to the Underworld)
Place names based on names of dogs from literature, mythology and history.

Hydra (Multi-headed serpent whose lair was a lake under which was an entrance to the Underworld)
Legendary serpents and dragons.

Voting ends on April 7.

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It's not too late to submit a name for a feature on Pluto or one of its moons. There's been so much public interest NASA has extended the deadline to April 24.

Mark Showalter of the New Horizons science team says, "I’m impressed with the more than 40,000 thoughtful submissions. Every day brings new lessons in the world's history, literature and mythology. Participation has come from nearly every country on Earth, so this really is a worldwide campaign.”

For more details: Naming features of the Plutonian system

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The discoverers get to propose the names of celestial objects and their features, though the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has to approve them. NASA's New Horizons team has a list of proposed names for features on Pluto and its moons. They expect to need them for the data that will be sent back from the fly-by.

Here is the list that's going to the IAU. Have your favorites made the list?


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