NASA wants to name parts of Pluto's moon after Star Wars

Advertisement

Pluto's moon Charon might become a nerd's paradise if NASA has anything to say about it.

Advertisement

It's already settled that Pluto's landscape features must have names that come from underworld mythology like its rocky region called "Cthulu regio" (from H.P. Lovecraft's writing) and its dark spot called "Balrog macula" (from "Lord of the Rings").

But the door is wide open for Charon's craters, mountains, and plains, and NASA really went to geek town on its proposed names. They reference popular sci-fi works like "Star Wars," "2001: A Space Odyssey," and "Star Trek."

They aren't official yet, but we really hope these are the names that get approved. Keep scrolling to see Charon's features and which sci-fi stories they reference.

(NASA even has a spreadsheet that explains all the names if you want more details.)

Advertisement