NASA seeks nickname for tiny, icy world on solar system edge - Action News
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Science

NASA seeks nickname for tiny, icy world on solar system edge

Want to name a mysterious object on the edge of the solar system? NASA wants suggestions for a new nickname for 2014 MU69, the next destination of the New Horizons spacecraft.

New Horizons spacecraft, which visited Pluto, should arrive at 2014 MU69 in 2019

Artist's concept of NASAs New Horizons spacecraft flying by 2014 MU69 on Jan. 1, 2019. Early observations hint at the Kuiper Belt object being either a binary orbiting pair or a contact (stuck together) pair of nearly like-sized bodies with diameters near 20 and 18 kilometers (12 and 11 miles). Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI/Carlos Hernandez (Carlos Hernandez/SwRI/JHUAPL/NASA)

Heads up, armchair travellers.

NASA is seeking a nickname for a tiny, icy world on the edge of the solar system that's the next destination for New Horizons, the spacecraft that surveyed Pluto.

New Horizons whipped past Pluto two years ago. Now it's headed for 2014 MU69 gobbledygook to even the most die-hard scientists.

To lighten the mood as New Horizons aims for a 2019 flyby, the research team is holding a naming contest. The deadline is Dec. 1.

MU69 is 6.5 billion kilometres (4 billion miles) away and may actually be two objects, either stuck together or orbiting one another. If so, two nicknames would be needed. The nicknames will be temporary. NASA said Monday that a formal name will come after the flyby.