On January 1 , 2019 NASA ’s New Horizon will chit-chat ( 486958 ) 2014 MU69 , a small wintry aim in the Kuiper Belt , the area of material at the border of the Solar System where stone and midget satellite like Pluto and Eris go .
Even its short sobriquet , MU69 , does n’t precisely roll off the glossa , so NASA is asking for your supporter to select a byname for the object . you may eithervote for oneof the already uncommitted name calling or propose your own , which will be pre - pick out by the New Horizon team . So the probability of Rocky McRockface or RIP Harambe are quite slim .
“ New Horizons made account two years ago with the first closemouthed - up look at Pluto , and is now on course for the uttermost planetary encounter in the history of spaceflight , ” Thomas Zurbuchen , associate decision maker for NASA ’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington , said in astatement . “ We ’re pleased to bring the public along on this exciting mission of discovery . ”
The prescribed name for the aim will be propose by the New Horizon squad after the flyby of MU69 and it will likely be related to innovation myth . This will be then go over and approved by theInternational Astronomical Union . Dwarf planets Eris and Makemake were called Xena and Easterbunny before their prescribed designation .
“ Many Kuiper Belt Objects have had informal names at first , before a formal name was proposed . After the flyby , once we experience a lot more about this intriguing human race , we and NASA will work with the International Astronomical Union to assign a schematic name to MU69 , ” New Horizons team member Mark Showalter , from the SETI Institute , added . “ Until then , we ’re frantic to bring multitude into the delegacy and ploughshare in what will be an awing flyby on New Year ’s Eve and New Year ’s Day , 2019 ! ”
This summertime a special alignment between MU69 and a distant whizz allowed astronomers to learn a lot more about this objective . It might be red than antecedently think and it might even be not just one object , it might be two . Whatever New Horizons will find , it will be extraordinary .
“ New Horizons has always been about unadulterated geographic expedition , shedding light on new worlds like we ’ve never seen before , ” sound out Alan Stern , New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute in Boulder , Colorado . “ Our close encounter with MU69 adds another chapter to this mission ’s singular report . We ’re excited for the public to help us pick a nickname for our object that capture the excitement of the flyby and fear and stirring of research this unexampled and platter - remote torso in space . ”
To vote or propose name calling go to theFrontier Worlds site .
