Help name Pluto's moon... Vulcan!

[Sector 7]

I didn't find a thread in GTD, so here is the link to the article and where to vote.

Voting ends February 25, 2013. According to the article Shatner himself is pushing for the name Vulcan. The article says thanks to Trekkies, Vulcan is winning. If you haven't voted, do so now.

 

[Pavonis]

No!

Vulcan shouldn't be a ball of ice!

 

[Maurice]

Ugh. No. If anything, THIS should be named Vulcan.

 

[dub]

I didn't find a thread in GTD, so here is the link to the article and where to vote.

Voting ends February 25, 2013. According to the article Shatner himself is pushing for the name Vulcan. The article says thanks to Trekkies, Vulcan is winning. If you haven't voted, do so now.

When I posted this in the sci&tech forum, it seemed to be unanimous -- anything but "Vulcan." I suggested naming at least one of them Vulcan, then NASA could blow it up JJ style...but nobody agreed. In fact, nobody commented at all after that. Perhaps they didn't think the NASA cameras would provide enough lens flares?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

There's also non-Star Trek precedents for Vulcan being the name of a planet. Vulcan is a character in Greek mythology after all. But I suppose a hot planet's moon would be more appropriate.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Vulcan existed, sort of...

Vulcan was a hypothetical planet supposed to revolve around the Sun inside the orbit of Mercury, invoked to explain certain irregularities in Mercury's orbit. The planet was proposed as a hypothesis in 1859, and abandoned not later than 1915.

But I played ball and voted for Vulcan despite all the nice options (Persephone, Tantalus, Styx.)

When a good options presents itself - volcanically active, orbiting 40 Eridani A - then we can slap the appropriate label on the new candidate.

 

[Saul]

Name little Pluto's little moon Vulcan? A fictional planet which itself has no moons?

I think we can do better than a moon.

 

[FormerLurker]

There's also non-Star Trek precedents for Vulcan being the name of a planet. Vulcan is a character in Greek mythology after all. But I suppose a hot planet's moon would be more appropriate.

Vulcan is actually the Roman name of the Greek god Hephaestus, god of the forge.

 

[Finn]

No. Even in the distant future when we have colonized the solar system, nobody will give a shit about that dinky ice moon. Save Vulcan for a more impressive planetary body.

 

[heavy lids]

They should call it Rura Penthe.

 

[Xhiandra]

Shame they only use greco-roman mythology. For a ball of ice, "Niflheim" would be most appropriate.

 

[Jameskennedy]

Well like it or not with 150000 votes n next highest around half of that it's gonna be Vulcan.

 

[Pavonis]

That's why the public shouldn't be allowed to vote on things like this. What does Vulcan have to do with Pluto in mythology? Vulcan wins because of Trek connections, not because the name fits with a theme.

 

[Ronald Held]

Naming celestial objects is not to be a popularity contest.

 

[Maurice]

They should call it Rura Penthe.

Which is merely a Klingonization of Rorapandi from 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (1954).

Nemo: The prison camp of Rorapandi, the white man's grave.
Arronax: I thought it had been abolished.
Nemo: Nothing is abolished that turns a profit to that hated nation.
—From the Disney Film