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If a Ninth Planet is discovered in the Outer Solar System, should it be called Hercules?

What Roman deity would you choose?


  • Total voters
    29
Okay, let's call it "Planety McPlanetface".
No. I myself don't even find that joke funny.

Anyway, we've now got 17 votes for Persephone! But someone needs to contact both Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin asking them politely to officially name Planet Nine Persephoneia, to prevent conflicts with asteroid 399 Persephone and also to honor Homer's Odyssey.
 
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But what should Arnold (Planet Ten) really be named?

I voted Persephone for Planet IX, but I do like Minerva from the poll as a name for Planet X. Although I suppose that Erebus (personification of darkness) would probably be more fitting. For an option not on the poll, I also like Aquilo (god of the north wind and winter).
 
Pluto should be now called The Forbidden Planet, and this new on(if it's real) should be called The Tenth planet....that way sci-fi fans win big time, and that is all that matters in the end. ;)
 
Minerva is already taken.

Sure, but so is Persephone! :) I know that the IAU rules indicate that a dwarf planet can't share a name with an asteroid, but I couldn't find any reference to similar rules for major planets (if either IX or X would qualify). (And if X is a dwarf planet, there are a lot of other mythologies available to pick from, anyway.)

Personally, I would say that if we take "93 Minerva" as the formal asteroid name, then the planet name "Minerva" would still be unique, but I do understand that the IAU does not agree with this. :)

Erebus is fine, but there's already an active volcano on Earth and a crater on Mars named that

I don't think there is any rule against repeating dwarf planet names with planetary feature names?

chione is the greek goddess of ice and snow (ancient greeek lessons pay off after all)

Nice name, but if X is a dwarf planet, it runs into the same problem as Minerva does: 6261 Chione is already an asteroid.
 
Sure, but so is Persephone! :) I know that the IAU rules indicate that a dwarf planet can't share a name with an asteroid, but I couldn't find any reference to similar rules for major planets
Then instead have Persephoneia (from Homer's Odyssey), Proserpine, Persephatta or Persephassa. Or just make an exception: "Rules are designed for a majority but they always have exceptions."
 
Additionally, I forgot to mention this earlier, but last year I sent a poll throughout my year level at school on what Planet Nine should be named. One suggested Persephone, another one suggested names from other classical literature works such as Dante's Inferno (like what Larry Niven did for trans-Persephonian planets), and another one suggested Minerva. But a few immature ones decided to suggest Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Joemama (no offense intended).
 
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