The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a previously unnoticed moon orbiting the planet Neptune. Given the poetic name S/2004 N 1, it is apparently a mere 12 miles across. READ THE REST
That’s no moon…
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Isn’t it tough to walk when you are nearly weightless?
Came in for this. Leaving happy.
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Since it’s likely to be more of a sphere than a disk, that day trip would be about 38 miles – plus any surface irregularities.
M-O-O-N spells W-A-L-K.
I am sure Neptune has plenty of moons which you could hold in your hand.
Wouldn’t that be a “moonlet”? Or perhaps, referencing the Pluto debate, a “dwarf moon”?
(Could we dump the “S/2004 N 1” moniker, and call it “Tyrion” instead?)
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Seriously, when did we start giving bureaucratic names to bodies in our own solar system. That just sucks. Name it something awesome, or ironic, or anything really - not just a slot in a filing system.
I get it with the bazillions of stars and (likely) exoplanets out there - we have to keep them organized. But in our own system we should at least have a little bit of flair. Call it 12 Buttons.
I feel like reading The Little Prince.
There’s loads of stuff in our own solar system. Besides, our own moon is named …moon.
Moons get those systematic names automatically, and then get more poetic names once people have had time to think about them. The last new moon of Neptune was S/2003 N1, and now it’s Psamathe after one of the sea nymphs. Most are supposed to be from Greek mythology, but moons of Uranus are from Shakespeare and Pope. So your concern is a little misplaced.
I vote for Terrortron 5000.
That, or Terrence.
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