Gallifrey may be found on CharonBookmark and Share

Thursday, 30 July 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
NASA have released plans for the naming of areas of Pluto's moon Charon, based upon the International Astronomical Union's recommendations that these would relate to "destinations and milestones of fictional space and other exploration; fictional and mythological vessels of space and other exploration; fictional and mythological voyagers, travellers and explorers."

This has led to proposals of names from a number of sci-fi shows including Doctor Who, which sees a large crater on the surface named "Gallifrey Macula", with a nearby rift named "TARDIS Chasma". Star Trek is honoured with a plain named the "Vulcan Planum", containing craters such as "Spock" and "Sulu" and mons like "Kirk" and "Uhura" - there are also features named after Star Wars characters, and also sci-fi writers/directors such as Arthur C Clarke and Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey).

Doctor Who related names on Charon (Credit: NASA)
Image: NASA

The names are to be submitted to the IAU for final approval.




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