A bizarre “quasi-moon” of Earth is about to get a reputation — and you’ll be a part of the method.
Earlier this 12 months, the science podcast Radiolab and the Worldwide Astronomical Union (IAU) — the group that assigns official names to celestial our bodies and their floor options — introduced a contest to call the asteroid (164207) 2004 GU9.
That 500-foot-wide (150 meters) house rock is considered one of our planet’s quasi-moons — a brief companion that is orbiting the solar in a path just like that of Earth. 2004 GU9 will doubtless be with us for about 600 extra years, then shoot away into the darkish and empty depths of house.
The naming contest has now reached a brand new and thrilling stage: A panel of consultants, together with TV “Science Man” Invoice Nye, has picked seven finalists from a pool of almost 3,000 monikers, which had been submitted by folks in additional than 90 nations.
Associated: Zoozve — the unusual ‘moon’ of Venus that earned its title by chance
IAU conventions require that the names of cosmic objects be related to one of many many mythologies developed by folks across the globe. The seven finalists, and their cultural origins, are:
- Bakunawa (Filipino)
- Cardea (Roman)
- Ehaema (Estonian)
- Enkidu (Sumerian)
- Ótr (Norse)
- Tarriaksuk (Inuit)
- Tecciztecatl (Aztec)
“How fortunate are we that we get to call one thing in house that may outlive us all?!” Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser mentioned in an emailed assertion. “We paired up with the Worldwide Astronomical Union to be sure that anybody in the entire world can vote and hopefully discover some marvel and inspiration alongside the best way. Narrowing down the 1000’s of submissions was exhausting, however I am unable to wait to see which title the world chooses!”
You’ll be able to study extra in regards to the finalist names, and vote on your selection, on the contest homepage. Voting will run via Jan. 1, 2025.
The judges who picked the seven finalist names embody (however should not restricted to):
- Invoice Nye, science communicator and CEO of The Planetary Society, a space-exploration advocacy organiziation
- Penn Badgley, actor and producer, recognized for roles on “Gossip Lady” and “You”
- Celia Rose Gooding, actor who performs Nyota Uhura on “Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds”
- Jacob Pinter, producer and co-host of NASA’s “Curious Universe” podcast
- Moiya McTier, astrophysicist, writer and host of the “Exolore” and “Pale Blue Pod” podcasts
- Salman Hameed, science educator and founder and CEO of Kainaat Studios
- Sofia Rojas, postdoctoral researcher on the College of California, Los Angeles
- Wanda Diaz Merced, astrophysicist and pioneer in sonification, which turns datasets into audible sound
- Sean Carroll, writer and theoretical physicist; Homewood Professor of Pure Philosophy at Johns Hopkins College
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