NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is set to explore a target a billion miles beyond Pluto – a mysterious, frozen world in the outer reaches of our solar system.
The Kuiper Belt object, for now known as MU69, could be a single body, a binary pair, or even a system of many objects.
While NASA plans to choose a formal name once its true nature is uncovered, the space agency is now seeking suggestions from the public to nickname the target in the meantime.
Following in the footsteps of past crowd-sourcing efforts, however, users have posed a slew of absurd suggestions, with everything from ‘Donald Trump’s heart’ and countless space-themed spin-offs of the Boaty McBoatface debacle, to ‘Dave.’
While NASA plans to choose a formal name once its true nature is uncovered, the space agency is now seeking suggestions from the public to nickname the target in the meantime. An artist’s impression is pictured
New Horizons will fly past object 2014 MU69 on January 1, 2019 as part of its extended mission, after concluding its study of Pluto.
NASA is now taking suggestions on Frontier Worlds to nickname the object, and has revealed a list of submissions that have so far made the short list, so space enthusiasts can vote for their favourite.
‘New Horizons made history two years ago with the first close-up look at Pluto, and is now on course for the farthest planetary encounter in the history of spaceflight,’ said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
‘We’re pleased to bring the public along on this exciting mission of discovery.’
While the ballot includes a number of legitimate options, including Mjölnir (Thor’s hammer), Camalor (fictional city in the Kuiper Belt), and Pluck & Persistence (traits of New Horizons), Twitter users have shared their own suggestions as well.
Some opted for a less serious approach. One user wrote: ‘Small and cold huh? Maybe call it Donald Trump’s heart’
Following in the footsteps of past crowd-sourcing efforts, however, users have posed a slew of absurd suggestions, including countless space-themed spin-offs of the Boaty McBoatface debacle
Many users have suggested naming the object Hoth, for the icy planet home to the Rebel Alliance’s Echo base in Star Wars.
Others opted for a less serious approach, with names such as ‘Frosty Boi,’ ‘Uncle-arctica,’ and Spacerock McSpacerockeyface.
One user wrote: ‘Small and cold huh? Maybe call it Donald Trump’s heart.’
Some suggested calling the target Kirk and Picard – if it turns out to be a pair – after the Star Trek duo.
MU69 is 4 billion miles (6.5 billion kilometers) away, and may not be just one object.
While the ballot includes a number of legitimate options, including Mjölnir (Thor’s hammer), Camalor (fictional city in the Kuiper Belt), and Pluck & Persistence (traits of New Horizons), Twitter users have shared their own suggestions as well
Many users have suggested naming the object Hoth, for the icy planet home to the Rebel Alliance’s Echo base in Star Wars. A still from the Empire Strikes Back is pictured
According to the space agency, it could be two objects, either stuck together or orbiting one another – or, it may be a system of many.
This, however, means two or more nicknames may be needed.
If so, two nicknames would be needed.
The nicknames, however, will be temporary, NASA says.
After the flyby, NASA will submit a formal name to the International Astronomical Union, based in part on whether the target turns out to be one, or multiple objects.
NASA is now taking suggestions on Frontier Worlds to nickname the object, and has revealed a list of submissions that have so far made the short list, so space enthusiasts can vote for their favourite
The nicknames, however, will be temporary, NASA says. After the flyby, NASA will submit a formal name to the International Astronomical Union, based in part on whether the target turns out to be one, or multiple objects
NEW HORIZONS’ NEXT MISSION
The spacecraft that gave us the first close-up views of Pluto now has a much smaller object in its sights.
New Horizons is now track to fly past a recently discovered, less than 30-mile-wide object out on the solar system frontier.
The close encounter with what’s known as 2014 MU69 would occur in 2019. It orbits nearly 1 billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) beyond Pluto.
Nasa and the New Horizons team chose 2014 MU69 in August as New Horizons’ next potential target, thus the nickname PT-1. Like Pluto, MU69 orbits the sun in the frozen, twilight zone known as the Kuiper Belt.
This illustration provided by NASA shows the New Horizons spacecraft. The probe whipped past Pluto in 2015 and is headed to 2014 MU69 for an attempted 2019 flyby of the tiny, icy world on the edge of the solar system
MU69 is thought to be 10 times larger and 1,000 times more massive than average comets, including the one being orbited right now by Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft.
On the other end, MU69 is barely 1 percent the size of Pluto and perhaps one-ten-thousandth the mass of the dwarf planet. So the new target is a good middle ground, according to scientists.
The spacecraft was recently approved for its extended mission, allowing it to continue on its path toward the object deeper in the Kuiper Belt.
It’s expected that New Horizons will make its approach to the ancient object on January 1, 2019.
The campaign, hosted by the SETI Institute, will close at 3 p.m. EST/noon PST on Dec. 1.
NASA and the New Horizons team will then review the top submissions, and announce the selection in early January.
‘New Horizons has always been about pure exploration, shedding light on new worlds like we’ve never seen before,’ said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is set to explore a target a billion miles beyond Pluto – a mysterious, frozen world in the outer reaches of our solar system. Space enthusiasts have taken to Twitter to share their suggestions for its nickname
‘Our close encounter with MU69 adds another chapter to this mission’s remarkable story.
‘We’re excited for the public to help us pick a nickname for our target that captures the excitement of the flyby and awe and inspiration of exploring this new and record-distant body in space.’