[Movies] One Of Pluto's Moons Could Be Named After Star Trek's Planet Vulcan
Posted by Joseph Lee on 02.26.2013
The logical choice...
BBC reports that "Vulcan" has topped a poll to name two recently discovered moons of Pluto. Vulcan is the home planet of Mr. Spock on Star Trek. The name was suggested by William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk on the original series and films. Over 450,000 people voted in an online poll by the Seti Institute.
The organization, which searches for intelligent life in the universe, along with Dr. Mark Showalter (who led the teams that discovered the moons) offered a choice of 21 different names. The moons, discovered in 2011 and 2012, are known as P4 and P5.
Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock, said that Vulcan was the "logical choice". After the poll ended on Monday, Vulcan was ahead by about 50,000 votes. The second most popular choice was Cerberus, the name of the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld in Greek myth. For those who don't know, Hades, ruler of the Underworld, is called Pluto in the Roman take on the mythology.
The names will be taken to the International Astronomical Union, the body responsible for naming planetary objects. In 2006, it decided that Pluto was no longer a planet, but instead a "dwarf planet". A spokesman for the IAU said the organization didn't involve the public and astronomers would have the final say.
