Space & Astronomy

You can now help to name Jupiter's moons

By T.K. Randall
March 6, 2019

Image: Jupiter
Credit: (PD) NASA/STSCI (S.T.A.R.S) Last summer a team lead by Scott Sheppard from the Carnegie Institution for Science discovered a total of 12 new moons around the gas giant, bringing Jupiter's total number of moons up to 79.

Now efforts are underway to pick names for the new additions with 5 of the 12 being open to suggestions from members of the public.

There certainly won't be a Moony McMoonface this time around however, as the names will have to meet certain requirements before they can be accepted by the International Astronomical Union.

Jupiter's other moons are all named after characters from Greek or Roman mythology, meaning that these new moons will also need to conform to this particular convention as well.In addition, the name of each moon needs to end in either '-a' or '-e' depending on whether or not it orbits Jupiter in the same direction as the planet rotates.

The full list of restrictions can be viewed - here.

Submissions must be Tweeted to @JupiterLunacy with the hashtag #NameJupitersMoons along with a short explanation of why you think the name should be picked.

The deadline for sending in submissions is April 15th.

Source: Live Science

Tags: Jupiter, Moons