Naming planets, Pluto's moons, and Vulcan - questions

Morrus · Mar 1, 2013

So, any astronomers here? I have a question!

As we all know, one of Pluto's moons is now called Vulcan. Which is cool and everything, but...

In Star Trek, Vulcan is said to be a planet orbiting 40 Eridani A (about 16 light years away). Now, if we were to happen to discover an appropriate planet orbiting that star, would it not be far cooler to name THAT Vulcan, rather than some piddly moon of a dwarf planet in our own solar system?

So I guess the question is this -- does calling Pluto's moon Vulcan now prevent us from calling a potential future planet Vulcan? How do the naming rules work?

jonesy · Mar 1, 2013

If there was a planet orbiting Eridani A I'd rather wish they'd name it Richese.

But as far as the naming goes, nicknames are not officially recognized as far as naming conventions for astronomical objects on star charts go. 51 Pegasi b is an official planetary name, Bellerophon is just a nickname people call it. Pluto's official name is '134340 Pluto', and Vulcan's official name is 'S/2011 (134340) 1'.

I'm not sure if there are official rules for the nicknames.

Vulcan was already a placeholder name for a proposed planet when it was thought there was a planet somewhere near Mercury, because Mercury has odd orbital characteristics.

Edit: and no, I am not an astronomer. =)

Umbran · Mar 1, 2013

Morrus said:
As we all know, one of Pluto's moons is now called Vulcan.

NO IT ISN'T!!!!

"Vulcan" is the name that came up the popular lead in an online poll by the SETI Institute. But the SETI Institute isn't the organization that names astronomical objects!

The name for the moon will be set by the nomenclature working group of the International Astronomical Union, some months from now. They are not bound by the poll. The guy who ran the poll (Mark Showalter) is a member of that working group, but he's recused himself from the process for naming P4 and P5.

Ultimately, the nomenclature working group sets the rules. They don't generally like using the same name for two objects, but it isn't strictly prohibited.

TarionzCousin · Mar 1, 2013

I think that they should be forced to rename the Disney dog character something other than Pluto. :rant:

Where's my online voting mechanism for that?

Morrus · Mar 1, 2013

Umbran said:
BZZZT!!!! NO IT ISN'T!!!!

Bit excitable there, Umbran?

"Vulcan" is the name that came up the popular lead in an online poll by the SETI Institute. But the SETI Institute isn't the organization that names astronomical objects!

The name for the moon will be set by the nomenclature working group of the International Astronomical Union, some months from now. They are not bound by the poll. The guy who ran the poll (Mark Showalter) is a member of that working group, but he's recused himself from the process for naming P4 and P5.

Ultimately, the nomenclature working group sets the rules. They don't generally like using the same name for two objects, but it isn't strictly prohibited.

Thanks for the info!

I guess ultimately, a place gets names whatever folks use to refer to it, even if official names differ. If such a place became popularly known as "Vulcan" it'd pretty much be called Vulcan for most colloquial purposes.

Kaodi · Mar 1, 2013

Then there is still hope for Lethe and Acheron,

.

Dannyalcatraz · Mar 1, 2013

Trekkie though I am, I'd rather the name Vulcan be applied to a hotter planet than a colder moon...

odinfellhammer · Mar 1, 2013

I voted for Cerberus to keep with the Underworld theme.

Umbran · Mar 4, 2013

Morrus said:
Bit excitable there, Umbran?

Not really. Just sometimes need to shout to be heard on this planet

I guess ultimately, a place gets names whatever folks use to refer to it, even if official names differ. If such a place became popularly known as "Vulcan" it'd pretty much be called Vulcan for most colloquial purposes.

That may be, but honestly, this place probably isn't going to be called anything colloquially. It is a tiny moon of something that isn't even considered a planet any more, and it will drop out of common attention shortly.

Morrus · Mar 6, 2013

Umbran said:
That may be, but honestly, this place probably isn't going to be called anything colloquially. It is a tiny moon of something that isn't even considered a planet any more, and it will drop out of common attention shortly.

I meant the hypothetical discovery of an inhabitable planet around 40 Eridani A. Not that there is such a place (that we know of) but if there was one, I'd like to think folks would call it Vulcan.