It all started on a moonlit drive.
The moon was full and particularly brilliant, and Tawni Henderson and her companions took notice. As they drove, Henderson shared something she had read on the web, that Earth's moon is named after its astronomical classification, unlike other planets' moons, which have names.
"We're just like, 'Let's try to name the moon,'" she said.
Next thing she knew, a small group of friends and family had developed a website encouraging a movement to name the moon. The website received more than 1,500 suggested names from 30 countries, 4,100 responses and counting.
“Other moons in the solar system have names like Ganymede, Titan, Bianca and Belinda, and they’re the same names in every language. The most beautiful moon in the solar system, our moon — which is currently named after its classification — also deserves one unique name," she said.
The effort, Henderson says, has entered a new phase, so to speak — voting on a name among the top 12 candidates. They include Moon, Diana, Solo, Kai, Lani, Luna, Olea, EONS, Pax, Selene, Skywalker and Theia. Votes are being taken at namethemoon.world.
"It's just one of those things. We wanted to have a lot of fun with it. And we have had a lot of fun with it so far," she said.
After the votes are tabulated, the group plans to submit a petition to the International Astronomical Union for consideration.
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