Pluto

New names of Pluto’s smallest known moons to be announced this morning

This morning at 9:00 am PT, the SETI Institute will announce the new names of Pluto’s smallest known moons. “Vulcan” and “Cerberus” were the public’s choices earlier this year, following a SETI-sponsored naming poll, but the International Astronomical Union – the organizing body responsible for naming planetary bodies – had final say over whether the…

How I Helped Get Us To Pluto

Back in 1991 I did a series of illustrations for a set of US commemorative postage stamps, one for each planet and the Moon. There was a spacecraft associated with each world . . . except Pluto. And there was something about that stamp that rankled a lot of scientists. In 1993 JPL engineer Robert…

Alien life in our solar system, according to pulp-art legend Frank R. Paul

Almost fifty years after his death, Frank R. Paul remains one of the biggest names in science fiction art and pulp magazine illustration. These visions of life on moons and planets throughout our solar system (recently posted to reddit with no attribution to Paul, his work, or his impact) provide us with another fantastic example…

“Vulcan” has won Pluto’s moon-naming poll!

When we last told you about the SETI-sponsored poll asking the public to help christen two of Pluto’s as-yet unnamed moons, “Vulcan” held a significant lead. Now, after weeks of online ballot casting, the namesake of Spock’s home planet has been named the clear winner, with a total of 450,324 votes cast since February 11.…

Star Trek Trumps Mythology in Naming Pluto’s New Moon

Due to popular demand, one of Pluto’s recently discovered moons is to be named Vulcan, after the fictional home of Star Trek’s Spock. And that makes no kind of sense. The name Vulcan was suggested by William Shatner, then reinforced by Leonard Nimoy. Over 450,000 people voted to name the moon, in a poll run…

Have Trekkies taken over the voting on the naming of Pluto’s new moons?

Last week we reported on a SETI initiative allowing the public to vote on their favorite names for Pluto’s 4th and 5th moons. The voting is scheduled to close on February 25th, after which time the top names will be presented to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for consideration. Initially, SETI provided a short list…

Now’s your chance to name two of Pluto’s new moons

Astronomers recently discovered two previously unknown moons orbiting Pluto, bringing its total up to five. How this supposed non-planet can have so many moons is beyond me, but whatever. Anyway, the new moons have been dubbed P4 and P5 — an oversight that needs correcting, especially when considering the elegant names of Pluto’s other moons…

The SETI Institute is taking a vote to name Pluto’s new moons. They even accept write-ins—as long as its Hades-related.

New Moon Discovered in Our Solar System

A team of astronomers has photographed a new moon in our solar system using the Hubble Space Telescope. The new celestial object is orbiting Pluto. Mark Showalter—from the SETI Institute (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) in Mountain View, California—is intrigued that such a small planet “can have such a complex collection of satellites.” Showalter and the…

Astronomers discover a fifth moon orbiting Pluto

It may not be a planet, but Pluto’s got moons to burn. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have spied the icy orb’s fifth satellite. Everybody, say hello to S/2012 (134340), or “P5” for short. Measuring somewhere between 6 and 15 miles in diameter, P5 may have to compete with P4 — which was discovered…

Flag Designs for Earth & The Solar System in 2020 and Beyond

Redittor thefrek has designed a kick-ass series of flags for the Solar System and its planets. But flags, as we all know, change over time. So he’s also created possible revisions for those flags reaching as far as 800 years into the future. Below you’ll find thefrek’s concept designs for “Earth/Solar flags throughout the future,”…

The real reason Neil deGrasse Tyson wanted Pluto demoted

Oh sure, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson says that he wanted Pluto downgraded from planet to dwarf planet because he wants to give similar objects similar classifications. But artist Burton Durand has revealed the real reason for Pluto’s reclassification — he’s in cahoots with famed physicist. And Pluto is patient. [Burton Durand via It’s Okay to…

Suffering Scifi Duos Bond over their Adorable Shared Pain

Life isn’t easy if you’re a genetic experiment. Or an expendable minion, a powerful being wedged into an itty-bitty living space, or a recently downgraded scientific entity. Fortunately, it’s a little easier to bear the pain if you’ve got someone in a similar situation to share the load. Chris Gerringer created this sweet series featuring…

Mickey Mouse and Pluto get the Frank Frazetta treatment

If fantasy artist Frank Frazetta had ever worked for Disney, perhaps we would have seen Mickey Mouse on a distant sand and sandals world plagued by ferocious monsters. This Frazetta-inspired painting gives us a glimpse of the Micky fantasy adventure that never was, but ignores one important question: What would Minnie be wearing? Disney artist…

Have we discovered fuel on Pluto?

One lure of space travel is the possibility that we might find a source of energy on another world. Now, a study published this month in The Astronomical Journal suggests that remote, frozen planetoid Pluto may harbor complex hydrocarbons like ethane and butane that are used as fuel here on Earth. These hydrocarbons, if confirmed,…

The planets of the Solar System, according to crazed pulp comics of the 1940s

Back in the Forties, the science fiction rag Planet Comics published the ongoing feature “Life On Other Worlds.” This section peppered scientific know-how amongst whatever gonzo shit the writer happened to make up. Here’s a tour of our Solar System using old issues of Planet Comics. Did you know that Mars is occupied by gargantuan…

Puss, Boots, BDSM, and the Plutonic Ideal

The new Dreamworks Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots is about a cat and a hat and is really kind of meritless, unless you’re a member of fursuit fandom who can only appreciate Salma Hayek when she’s a sultry tabby. It’s not greatly interesting, with the remarkable exception that PiB resurrects the strange sado-sexual dynamic from…

Pluto has regained its position as the ninth largest body to orbit the Sun. Probably.

When scientists first discovered the dwarf planet Eris back in 2005, they claimed that the icy body was actually larger than Pluto. But when Eris’ orbit passed in front of a dim star late last year, astronomers got their first chance to take a good hard look at the dwarf planet’s actual diameter. And as…

The Solar System’s Newest Beach Spot Is an Icy One

One ticket to Pluto, please! Seems there’s an ocean there just waiting to be discovered, surfed or lounged about. Don’t worry about my well-being though—I’ll be packing a sweater. Scientists with more know-how of how the Universe works than do I conclude this slushy sea could exist in spite of Pluto’s frosty -230 degree Celsius…

Could Pluto be home to a hidden liquid ocean?

Surface temperatures on Pluto are around -230C, making the likelihood of a liquid ocean on the dwarf planet’s surface more than a little unlikely. In fact, scientists have long assumed that Pluto’s surface is covered mostly with ice. What goes on beneath that ice, however, is something of a mystery. Now, scientists have calculated that…