pluto

Crave Ep. 111: Man vs. jetpack

Subscribe to Crave:

A German inventor has built a DIY jetpack, so we hop onboard. Also, we get a first look at "Star Wars" pinball for iOS and Android, and "Star Trek" fans win a major space battle when they vote to name a Pluto moon "Vulcan." All that and more on this week's episode of Crave. … Read more

Trekkies conquer contest to name Pluto moons

Earlier this month, astronomer Mark Showalter and the SETI Institute asked the Internet to help name two Plutonian moons. The results are in after 450,324 votes from around the world on the Web site Pluto Rocks.

Pending authorization from the International Astronomical Union, the new names for Pluto's smallest moons -- currently called P4 and P5 -- could end up changing to Cerberus and Vulcan.… Read more

Help name some Plutonian moons

Want to feel like you contributed to something important today? Take a moment to help rename two of Pluto's moons, which desperately need a little more pizzazz as they currently float around with the drab designations P4 and P5.

With assistance from the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomer Mark Showalter discovered P4 and P5 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. In conjunction with the SETI Institute, Showalter today opened a Web site that allows anyone to vote from 12 Greek and Roman mythology-inspired names for the roughly 20-mile diameter moons.… Read more

A trip beyond the edge of the observable universe

NEW YORK--If you want to see what outer space looks like, there may be no better way to do so than to have Carter Emmart take you on a ride there.

As part of my Road Trip 2010 project, I got a chance to go on that journey, and I can say with high confidence that there are probably few people on Earth better equipped for such a voyage than Emmart.

In his role as director of visualization at the American Museum of Natural History's Rose Center for Earth and Space, Emmart is the leading force behind the programming … Read more

Pluto is a planet again! (in Illinois)

Some people who spend their nights staring up at the stars still have black bands around their telescopes.

This is to commemorate the heinous day in 2006 when the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto to dwarf planet status.

Now, the bountifully deep and forward-thinking state of Illinois is showing its Illinoyance. It has decided that the IAU is comprised of downright plonkers and that Pluto will, on March 13, 2009, be reinstated as a full, mature rockstar planet.

In fact, March 13 will be Pluto Day in Illinois.

It appears that Clyde Tombaugh, the fine citizen who discovered Pluto, was … Read more