Things in space usually have two names. One is formal and the other is fun. That makes sense. Researchers need an accurate nomenclature to make sure they are exoplanet catalogs and Black hole references are consistent, communicable and clear – but as conscious beings they also need to cultivate good vibrations. I mean, the galaxy cluster thought to be “ACT-CL J0102-4915” is literally nicknamed El Gordo, which translates to “Fat”, due to his weight; the magnificent ancient realm recorded as “CEERS2_5429” is also passing through Maisie’s Galaxy.
Maisie is the name of the discoverer’s young daughter. He found Galaxia on her ninth birthday.
The list goes on. tons of space objects has this business-in-the-front-party-in-the-back duality – but, importantly, not all of them do. And that’s where you come in. The International Astronomical Union, which oversees naming practices for celestial objects and phenomena, invites the public to submit name ideas for one of Earth’s quasi-moons. Right now, the object is called 2004 GU9, or asteroid 164207 – but it’s nicknamed “the moon” because it’s tagged by our planet’s gravitational pulls as Our Moon™️. Nevertheless, the GU9 2004 is “quasi” satellite because its trajectory is also dictated by other forces, making it unstable. In reality, this strange object will not always be hanging around our corner Solar System. After 2600 or so, yes it is expected to disengage.
The competition is in partnership with the Radiolab podcast hosted by Latif Nasser and Lulu Miller. The reason is that it’s not that long ago, Nasser he was able to name his own quasi-moon. In an accident.
Related: Zoozve — a strange “moon” of Venus that earned its name by accident
A little over a year agoNasser was putting his son to bed facing the wall when he noticed something odd about the solar system poster he had hung there a moment ago. Apparently, Venus had a moon named “Zoozve”. It sounded a little weird, but not weird enough to make him question everything. Later, out of curiosity, he quickly Googled Zoozve because, well, isn’t Venus known to be moonless? “Venus has no moons,” the internet confirmed. Then Nasser began to question everything.
Long story short, after a pretty impressive detective saga, Nasser figured out the truth with the help of Liz Landau, senior communications specialist at the company NASA headquarters in Washington. What he saw on the poster was one of Venus quasi-months and was named 2002 VE. The handwriting was just clumsy. But the story is even better.
After realizing this, Nasser decided to approach the International Astronomical Union to see if he and his Radiolab crew could officially name the quasi-moon Zoozve. Because 2002 VE didn’t have its “funny” name yet.
It worked; Zoozve is now set in concrete astronomy History.
“Now it’s your turn,” Nasser told me via Zoom, hopefully meaning “you” in a collective sense. (The best I’ve come up with doesn’t even deserve to be permanently printed online).
“This time, it’s actually one from Earth,” he added, “so it’s even closer to home; he’s one of ours.”
Three of EarthThe seven half-neighbors have enough scientific support to be considered “official” quasi-moons, according to Nasser. Of the three, “we picked the weirdest one,” he said. “We picked the one that made the shape we had like, ‘Wow.’ As for the object itself? It is a grayish rock that is probably jagged on its surface, probably shaped like an uneven ball, and has something like the Eiffel Tower.
Mythological revival
There is a sliver of reservation in this naming contest. You see, Nasser owes his success in naming the moon partly to his infectiously friendly personality and partly to luck. “Zoozve” is technically not an acceptable name under the relatively recent new IAU standards.
Rather, the IAU wants it space wonders to be named after equally majestic figures. It needs mythological names. Nasser believes Zoozve only did this because the IAU seemed charmed (in the organization’s words) by the “cuteness” of its origin story. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it – the IAU is likely to be stricter with its new attempt at naming quasi-moons. But that doesn’t stop Nasser from dreaming. And given that he and several other Radiolab employees will be part of the evaluation committee, there might be room for a “wild card,” he suggested.
“If there are names that are special and not mythological, we will try to offer them,” Nasser said. “We’re more on the, kind of playful side, ‘Maybe it should be Mooney McMoonface!’ I think they’re more on the side of, ‘This isn’t a silly, whimsical gag, this is going to be forever.'”
For each Boaty McBoatface ship, Roo-ver lunar rover and Bad boy rocket, there it is Kamo’oalewa asteroid, Ceres dwarf planet a Andromeda galaxy.
Nasser sees merit in mythological names as well, even mentioning that the team hopes to invite astronomers and mythology experts to weigh in. “I’m from,” he said, “here’s a shot of you naming something from your culture in the sky, and it’s so beautiful.”
“Something that maybe has that kind of mischief and unpredictability,” he suggested, seeing that it would be a nod to the instability of quasi-moons in general. “The first thing that attracted me to quasi-moons was how they create shapes in space that I didn’t think were possible.”
See the full list of instructions here here, but there are two main aspects that Nasser wants to emphasize. Anyone can participate, especially regardless of age. Parents can apply on behalf of children who are under the age limit and can also make a contribution for themselves. Age really is just a number as far as the universe is concerned. In the end, the names will be narrowed down to 10 finalists and the committee will go from there.
Second, the question you might want to ask yourself, Nasser said, is, “What is the name that only you could think of—that no one else would ever think of?
“Send us the name.”
We’re just playing the Game of Life
One of the most widespread examples of naming space objects is probably the “Name a Star” program, which I’m sure many soap operas have used as a plot point. Just search for the phrase “name star” and tons of options will pop up. I can see both sides of the value of such an activity – it might seem a little pointless to name an object that lives in infinity, an object that you will never experience up close. However, it may seem deep to “own” the corner universe, especially due to the infinite nature of the universe.
But Nasser actually has a different view that falls somewhere in between: Being responsible for the name of Venus’ quasi-moon is just like playing the Game of Life.
Let me paint a picture.
Imagine being one of those miniature figures that fit into a Life car. You roll the dice. You move a few squares. Oh look, you have to pick up a life tile. What did life bring you this time? “It’s like ‘he made a hit single!’ Nasser explained, “or ‘he won the Nobel Prize!’
If you won that earth-moon naming contest, it might be like getting one of those life tokens – not necessarily life-changing because you’d still need to finish the game and collect a lot more tokens, but not necessarily useless because you’d have to keep your tiles until the end of the game. It’s also always nice to look back at these tiles after the game is over.
“I was involved in naming the thing that will survive me — there’s something really special about that,” Nasser said. “It helps me slow down my life a little bit in a way that’s so satisfying, like when things in my life are frustrating. It’s a potato-shaped stone, but I kind of feel a connection to it.”
It is also, of course, a major contributor to the “cuteness” of your life, as the IAU may agree.
“There’s a former professor of mine who I’m still close to,” Nasser said. “She named one of her goats Zoozve.