New Horizons wants the public to help pick a nickname for its next target
The New Horizons science team is asking the public to submit suggestions for a good nickname for 2014 MU69, the Kuiper Belt object that the spacecraft will fly past on January 1, 2019.
The naming campaign is hosted by the SETI Institute of Mountain View, California, and led by Mark Showalter, an institute fellow and member of the New Horizons science team. The website includes names currently under consideration; site visitors can vote for their favorites or nominate names they think should be added to the ballot. “The campaign is open to everyone,” Showalter said. “We are hoping that somebody out there proposes the perfect, inspiring name for MU69.”
The campaign will close at 3 p.m. EST/noon PST on Dec. 1. NASA and the New Horizons team will review the top vote-getters and announce their selection in early January.
The press release says that a more formal name for the object will be submitted to the IAU after the fly-by.
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The New Horizons science team is asking the public to submit suggestions for a good nickname for 2014 MU69, the Kuiper Belt object that the spacecraft will fly past on January 1, 2019.
The naming campaign is hosted by the SETI Institute of Mountain View, California, and led by Mark Showalter, an institute fellow and member of the New Horizons science team. The website includes names currently under consideration; site visitors can vote for their favorites or nominate names they think should be added to the ballot. “The campaign is open to everyone,” Showalter said. “We are hoping that somebody out there proposes the perfect, inspiring name for MU69.”
The campaign will close at 3 p.m. EST/noon PST on Dec. 1. NASA and the New Horizons team will review the top vote-getters and announce their selection in early January.
The press release says that a more formal name for the object will be submitted to the IAU after the fly-by.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Your support is even more essential to me because I keep this site free from advertisements and do not participate in corrupt social media companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook. I depend wholly on the direct support of my readers.
You can provide that support to Behind The Black with a contribution via Patreon or PayPal. To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If Patreon or Paypal don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
I’m kind of conservative, so I would suggest the name “MU70”. Of it isn’t already taken. It’s hard to find good url-google words these days.
“Doctor Alan’s Star” (Alans Sterne in German, his full name) is otherwise a name I would bet on. We all know who the guy who WILL name it is on a press conference any day now. He wouldn’t bother the confused IAU with it, and they should be grateful and stay in the archives beyond media attention. There are Kuiper Belt objects names Humhum-something after some imagined ghost. So why not having an icy little Alan out there?
Muie mc mu face is my bet…
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Kuiper McKuiper Face
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IHopeItsMadeOfDiamondsAndGoldAndReallyReallyGoodRootbeer ?
I voted twice today, once in the New York City election and then again I submitted my suggestion to name this Kuiper Belt object: “CHERRYSTONE40”
I’m feeling good about my chances.
Cotour:
I assume you are not registered Democrat, or you would have several opportunities to vote in a given election.