EVSN Special - Quasi Moon Naming Contest!

Hosted by Pamela Gay with guest Latif Nasser. https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau2406/ The International Astronomical Union and WNYC’s award-winning science podcast, Radiolab, invite people worldwide to take the unique opportunity to suggest a name for one of Earth's quasi-moons, 2004 GU9. Submissions are open until 30 September and the winning name will receive official recognition by the IAU.   https://radiolab.org/moon-official-rules/   For millennia, people across the globe have built deep connections to objects in the night sky, assigning them names and stories imbued with their cultural heritage and understanding of the world. Naming campaigns highlight these connections and provide the global public with a chance to have their creativity embedded in the cosmos.   Earlier this year, Latif Nasser, co-host of the science podcast Radiolab ( https://radiolab.org ), petitioned the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to name a quasi-moon of Venus after noticing a typo on a map of the Solar System. The saga was documented on a Radiolab episode and tweet thread from Nasser that went viral, opening the door for listeners to learn more about this fascinating class of objects. The episode established a connection between the IAU and Radiolab, which is produced by WNYC Studios [1]. The organisations have now teamed up to invite a global audience to engage with this field of astronomy through a new naming contest for one of Earth’s quasi-moons.   Quasi-moons of a planet are asteroids that orbit the Sun and follow a path similar to that of the planet. Due to the relative motion of the two objects, it appears as though the asteroid is orbiting the planet from the perspective of an observer on the planet’s surface. If a quasi-moon is near the Earth, it might seem as if we have a new moon, even though it is hardly affected by the Earth's gravitational pull. By taking part in “Name a Quasi-Moon!”, people worldwide will have the chance to leave their mark on our sky with official recognition from the world’s authority responsible for assigning names to objects in our Solar System and beyond. By involving the IAU’s wide international network, the collaboration will reach new audiences, ensuring our sky will be more representative of the world’s diverse ideas, cultures, perspectives, and ways of knowing.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].