Usually, things in space are given two names. One is formal, and the other is fun. This makes sense. Researchers need accurate nomenclature to be sure exoplanets catalogs and black hole References are stable, communicative and clear – but, as conscious beings, they must also cultivate good vibrations. I mean, a galaxy cluster considered “ACT-CL J0102-4915” is literally nicknamed El Gordo, which translates to “Fat”, because of his weight; also passes a magnificent ancient kingdom registered as “CEERS2_5429”. Maisie’s Galaxy.
Maisie is the name of the discoverer’s little daughter. He found the galaxy on its ninth birthday.
The list goes on. tons of space objects have this business-in-the-front-party-in-the-back duality – however, more importantly, not all of them do. And that’s where you come in. The International Astronomical Union, which oversees the naming procedures for celestial objects and phenomena, is inviting 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 called a “moon” because it’s tagged in the gravitational tides of our planet as Our Moon™️. However, the 2004 GU9 is a “quasi” SATELLITE because its orbit is also dictated by other forces making it unstable. In fact, this strange object will not always hang in our corner solar system. After 2600 or so, it is expected to close.
The contest is being run in partnership with the Radiolab podcast, hosted by Latif Nasser and Lulu Miller. The reason for this is that, not long ago, Nasser managed to name a quasi-moon his own. In an accident.
Connected: Zoozve – the strange ‘moon’ of Venus that got its name by accident
A little over a year ago, Nasser was tucking his son into bed, facing the wall, when he noticed something peculiar about a poster of the solar system that had been hanging there a while ago. Apparently, Venus there was a moon called “Zoozve”. It seemed kind of weird, but not weird enough to make him start questioning everything. Later, he did a quick Google search for Zoozve out of curiosity, because, well, isn’t Venus known to be moonless? “Venus has no moon”, the internet confirmed. Then Naser started asking everything.
In short, after a rather impressive detective saga, Nasser discovered the truth with the help of Liz Landau, a senior communications specialist at NASA headquarters in Washington. What he saw on the poster was one of Venus almost-moon, and was named 2002 VE. The handwriting was just weird. But the story gets even better.
After realizing this, Nasser decided to approach the International Astronomical Union to see if he and his crew at Radiolab could officially name the quasi-moon Zoozve. Because, well, the 2002 VE didn’t have its “fun” name yet.
It worked; Zoozve is now cemented astronomy history.
“Now, it’s your turn,” Nasser tells me over Zoom, hopefully meaning “you” in a collective sense. (The best I’ve found doesn’t even deserve to be printed forever on the internet).
“This time, is actually one from Earth, – he added, – so it’s even closer to home; it is one of ours”.
Three of earthIts seven half-neighbors have enough scientific support to be considered “official” quasi-moons, according to Nasser. Of those three, “we picked the weirdest,” he said. “We picked the one that made a shape that we were like, ‘Whoa.'” What about the object itself? It’s a gray rock that’s probably jagged on its surface, maybe shaped like an uneven blob and something like the size of the Eiffel Tower .
A mythological revival
There is a caveat to this naming contest. You see, Nasser owes his success in naming the moon partly to his contagious personality, and partly to luck. “Zoozve”, technically, is not an acceptable name by the relatively recent new IAU standards.
On the contrary, IAU wants ROOM it marvels to be named after equally magnificent figures. It requires mythological names. Zoozve, Nasser believes, only made the cut because the IAU seemed enthralled by (in the organization’s words) the “beauty” of its origin story. Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending on how you look at it — it’s likely that the IAU will be stricter with the new quasi-moon naming effort. However, this will not stop Nasser from dreaming. And, seeing as how he and several other Radiolab staff members will be part of the judging panel, perhaps there’s room for a “wild card,” he suggested.
“If there are names that are somewhat unusual and not mythological, we will try to bring them,” Nasser said. “We’re more on the playful side of ‘Maybe it should be Mooney McMoonface!'” I think they’re more on the side of ‘That’s not a silly lie, that’s going to be there for good.’
For each Boaty McBoatface ship, Roo-ver the moon rover and Bad boy rocket, there is one Kamo’oalewa asteroid, Ceres dwarf planet and Andromeda the galaxy.
Nasser also sees merit in the mythological names, even mentioning that the team hopes to bring in astronomers and mythology experts to evaluate. “It’s from,” he said, “here’s a picture you have of naming something from your culture in the sky, and that’s pretty cool.”
“Something that has that kind of air of regret and unpredictability, maybe,” he suggested, seeing as this would be a nod to the volatility of quasi-moons in general. “What attracted me to quasi-moons in the first place was the way they made shapes in space that I didn’t think were possible.”
A complete list of instructions can be found here here, but there are two main aspects that Nasser wants to emphasize. Anyone can enter, first of all, regardless of age. Parents can enter on behalf of children who are not over the age limit and they can also submit an entry for themselves. Age really is a number when it comes to the cosmic. Eventually, the names will be narrowed down to 10 finalists and the committee will go from there.
Second, at the end of the day, the question you might want to ask yourself, Nasser said, is, “What’s that name that only you can think of—that no one else would ever think of?
“Send us that name.”
We are just playing the game of life
One of the most common examples of space-object naming is probably the “Name a Star” program that I’m sure many soap operas have used as a plot point. Just search for the phrase “star name” and many options will appear. 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 the midst of infinity, an object that you will never experience up close. However, it may seem profound to “own” a corner of it UNIVERSE, ESPECIALLY because of the infinite nature of the universe.
But Nasser actually has a different opinion, one that falls somewhere in the middle: being responsible for the name of Venus’s quasi-moon just feels like playing The Game of Life.
Let me paint a picture.
Imagine that you are one of those miniature characters that fit into a Life machine. You roll the dice. You move a few spaces. Oh look, you have to get a life bar. What has life brought you this time? “It’s like ‘recording a hit song!’ Nasser explained, “or ‘won the Nobel Prize!’
If you’ve won this Earth-Moon naming contest, it might be like getting one of those Life Tiles – not necessarily life-changing, since you’ll have to finish the game and collect a lot more tiles, but not necessarily useless, as you have to keep your tiles until the end of the game. It’s always nice to look back at those tiles after the game is over, too.
“Having a hand in naming something that will outlive me — there’s something really special about that,” Nasser said. “It just helps me get away from my life a little bit in such a satisfying way, like when things are frustrating in my life. It’s a rock in the shape of a potato, but I kind of feel this relationship with it.”
It is also, of course, a major contributor to the “likability” of your life, as IAU can agree.
“There is a former professor of mine with whom I am still close,” said Nasser. “She named one of her goats Zoozve.”