The next flyby target of the New Horizons [wikipedia.org] mission (the first spacecraft to visit Pluto) is 2014 MU69 [wikipedia.org]. NASA is asking the public to help name it [frontierworlds.org]. The name(s) are unlikely to be submitted [theverge.com] to the International Astronomical Union before the flyby on January 1, 2019, because scientists are still unsure if 2014 MU69 consists of one or more objects.
To prevent a Boaty McBoatface redux, the New Horizons team is allowing you to pick from a number of options or submit your own name for consideration by December 1st. The poll is only to gauge support; they will decide which name(s) to submit to the IAU (which could also reject the name(s)). And the binary (trinary?) status of 2014 MU69 is likely to affect the name(s) chosen. The names currently being considered are:
- Año Nuevo ("New Year" in Spanish)
- Camalor (fictional city in the Kuiper Belt)
- Chomolungma, Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest in Tibet and Nepal)
- Kibo, Mawenzi, Shira (peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro)
- Mjölnir (Thor's hammer)
- Pangu (from Chinese mythology, emerged from yin and yang)
- Peanut, Almond, Cashew (shapes for small bodies)
- Pluck & Persistence (traits of New Horizons)
- Sagittarius (constellation behind MU69/mythical centaur)
- Uluru (Ayers Rock, largest rock on Earth, an "island mountain")
- Z'ha'dum (fictional planet at the edge of the galaxy)
Also at CNET [cnet.com].
Previously: Occultations of New Horizons' Next Target (2014 MU69) Observed [soylentnews.org]
New Horizons Target 2014 MU69 May be a "Contact Binary" [soylentnews.org]
New Horizons Flyby Plan Finalized; Pluto Features Named [soylentnews.org]