For thousands of years, Chaldea has been known as the Roman goddess of doorways and transitions, and the protector of thresholds. On Monday, she joined the celestial ranks of mythical figures like Mars, Venus and Andromeda.
However, Chaldea is not a planet or a constellation. She is like a quasi-moon. It is a very realistic type of asteroid that appears to be doing a special orbital dance around the Earth.
The International Astronomical Union, the organization of scientists responsible for giving official names to space objects, selected Chaldea through a naming contest that received more than 2,700 entries. The winning name was submitted by University of Georgia sophomore Clayton Chilcutt, 19, who entered the contest as part of an extra credit assignment for his introductory astronomy class.
“I met Chaldea, and when I read his description, it just sounded like a celestial being,” said Chilkat, an accounting and finance major whose “modest contribution to science” is now part of the history books. He added that it has become.
However, upon further research, Nasser, who has a Ph.D. and read the history of science at Harvard University, found that the speck on the poster labeled as the moon is not technically the moon, but in his explanation it is. I learned that there is no.
Planets orbit around stars, and moons orbit around planets. The quasi-moon orbits the sun, but it's close enough to the planet that it looks like a small satellite “doing this double hula-hoop dance in space,” Nasser said.
Nasser also learned that Zoozve's real name was not a pile of consonants, but simply a misunderstanding by the poster artist. So Zoozve was actually 2002-VE. Still, they persuaded the Astronomical Union, which usually only approves mythological names derived from culture and literature, to name 2002-VE Zoozve.
“It was absolutely shocking and felt like a little coup, a little bit of a poke at the stupidity of the universe,” Nasser said.
But Zuzuv wasn't alone. In fact, Earth had several quasi-satellites eligible for names (only one was given a non-alphanumeric name, Kamoorewa).
“No one seemed to care!” Nasser said. “We care, I care, I think a lot of people care.”
So in June, Radiolab and the Astronomers Guild teamed up to find a fitting mythical name for 2004 GU9, a quasi-moon discovered in 2004 by the LINEAR project in Socorro, New Mexico. Astronomical Union estimates that one of its closest approaches to Earth will be in October 2026, about 18.5 million miles away.
The contest solicited names from over 100 countries. Many entrants wrote inspiring stories, including origin stories of myths from their own cultures and faraway seas, and what names like these mean to the world. Nasser said that, like Mooney-McMoonface, the Astronomers Guild eliminated duplicate names, names that were already in use, and “obviously non-mythical names that people wouldn't even try.” said.
“Radiolab” helped assemble a star-studded panel of astronomers, journalists, teachers, students, and a handful of celebrity geeks, including Bill Nye, Penn Badgley, and Celia Rose Gooding. The panelists narrowed the list to seven finalists, two of whom were from the same University of Georgia course, and made the list available to the public.
Other finalists included Bakunawa, a mythical dragon from Philippine folklore. He was said to emerge from the sea to swallow the moon. Ehaema, or “Mother Twilight” in Estonian folklore. and Texistecatl, the Aztec moon god who once aspired to become the sun.
“It brings people into the world of science who previously thought, 'No, that's not for me,'” said Kelly Blumenthal, the international group's director of astronomy support.
Ms Blumenthal said it would be a “disappointment” to waste the other finalists and that the union's naming group would recommend using these candidates in the future.
For Nasser, the winning name, Chaldea, was ultimately a fitting fit for the quasi-moon. They are ancient gatekeepers and guardians, watching over us in times of turmoil and transition.
Nasser said he hopes the naming contest will make people “feel a connection to something bigger than all the chaos going on on the ground right now.” “The universe is the biggest picture we have.”
