My Astronomy professor announced to the class that the Astronomy community wants to name the moon that orbits the planet Orcus. Mike Brown, an Astronomer from Caltech, opened the suggestion of naming the Moon of Orcus to the public. Cool right? My professor offered extra credit points on the final exam to anyone whose suggested name gets chosen. What are the odds right? But I gave it a shot.
I decided to stay with the theme of Orcus’ origin – Etruscan mythology. Orcus is the God that brings souls to the underworld for punishment by the God Pluto. So a fitting name for its moon would be a female companion within the Etruscan mythology. I chose the Goddess Vanth who is a benevolent psychopomp – one who guides newly-deceased souls to the Underworld.
Vanth is a female demon in the Etruscan mythology depicted as a benevolent psychopompian figure guiding the newly-dead along the path to the afterlife.
Dang it! Someone else suggested that name! And someone else, then someone else. Shoot. Well, of course they thought of that name. It fits. Well, how can I get an original name? Lets see… well moons are slaves of planets. And the word Orc derives from the word Orcus… anyone thinking what I’m thinking? Lord of the Rings of course. How about the name for Orc slaves from the Lord of the Rings (Tolkien) mythology.
Snaga is a contemptuous term for the lesser Orcs of Mordor and Isengard. It comes from a word in the Black Speech meaning ’slave’.
So, I suggested my inelegant name in the hopes of having an original idea, but I gave Vanth as my second choice (even though I chose that name first) because the moon’s name will last for years. And we don’t know if a name from a current novel will sound retarded a thousand years from now.
After a week of suggestions… the name was chosen. And guess which one? Mine! Well, Vanth of course. Now I have extra credit points and street cred. I even gave myself a title: Moon Namer. Let me know if you come up with a more refined title. I’ve officially opened up suggestions for my new title to the public.
Let the Moon of Orcus henceforth be known as Vanth say I.
More About Orcus
Orcus was discovered in 2004 and is considered the “Anti-Pluto” because its orbit points in the opposite direction and when it circles near the sun Pluto is a far away from the sun. It’s moon was discovered in 2005. Check out the orbits below:
Hey, I don't want this picture. What gives?
2 Comments
My wife the moon namer. We should see if you can get any royalties from NASA!
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