CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Want to name Pluto's two tiniest moons? Then you'll need to dig deep into mythology.
Astronomers announced a contest Monday to name the two itty-bitty moons of Pluto discovered over the past two years.
Three Pluto moons
already have names associated with Hades and the underworld. They are
Charon, the ferryman of Hades; Nix for the night goddess; and
the multi-headed monster Hydra.
The two unnamed moons
need similarly shady references. Right now, they go by the bland titles
of P4 and P5. They're no more than 15 to 20 miles across.
Online
voting will last two weeks. Twelve choices are available at the website
"plutorocks." Choices include the hero who slew Hydra, Hercules; and
Styx, the river to the underworld. Write-in suggestions are welcomed.