Methane Ice?....
...I think PhrozenPhart would've been better
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has declared that the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet formerly dubbed 2005 FY9, or "Easterbunny", will henceforth be known as the equally silly "Makemake". Makemake, discovered in 2005 by a team from the California Institute of Technology led by Mike Brown, is the fourth officially- …
Hey, c'mon, it's just someone else's language, it's not "silly", even though it _does_ translate to "Easter Bunny" ...and, I _could_ see how someone might mistake it for a fish.
Oh, and does anyone else here think "The Plutoids" would be a really good name for a band? Perhaps, second-billed at the Echo & The Bunnymen reunion gig?
Alright alright alright already...
"OK, not a very good joke and yes, a red dwarf is a classification of star, but come on, it's like NASA calling a shuttle 'Enterprise'.."
Ah but the name of Enterprise as a ships (or in this case shuttles) name is quite normal. The Royal Navy has had several ships called Enterprise over the centuries. Although I agree that I don't think NASA were thinking of that when they named her.
"To......boldy go.......where no......Jupiter Mining Corporation vessel....has gone before !!!" ;)
"Makemake's surface is covered with large amounts of almost pure methane ice, which is scientifically fascinating, but really not easily relatable to terrestrial mythology.
"Suddenly, it dawned on me: The island of Rapa Nui. Why hadn't I thought of this before? "
Is anyone going to explain this nonsense to the rest of us? I'm not massively up on my geography but I doubt Rapa Nui is coated with methane ice.
by calling it Rapu Nui he's just being a bit pretentious and inaccurate? I mean you'd not make the jump from Easterbunny to Rapu Nui, you'd make the jump from Easterbunny to Easter Island to Makemake.
Still, great discovery. Not sure about the name, but given the other naming conventions that are out there it's probably not one of the worst!
"Ah but the name of Enterprise as a ships (or in this case shuttles) name is quite normal. The Royal Navy has had several ships called Enterprise over the centuries. Although I agree that I don't think NASA were thinking of that when they named her."
Oh, but that shuttle was named after _the_ Enterprise alright. There was a campaign back then to ensure that was done. Too bad it was only a prototype, so it never got into space.
> red giant and Blue dwarf are classifications of a star ... there is no such thing as a red dwarf star ...
Sorry but there is, a red dwarf is not only a type of star, but the most common type - one nearing the end of it's life, about 1/2 a solar mass. Our nearest neighbour, Proxima Centuri is a Red Dwarf.