1. Persephone (Greek) or Proserpina (Roman)
Many considered this the obvious favourite for naming the new planet, since Roman mythology has it that Pluto (or Hades, in Greek mythology) kidnapped Persephone, and made her his wife. So distraught was Persephone’s mother that her grief created winter. Very apt, since planets do not, as yet, get any colder than our most distant new addition. The only, but significant, problem with this name is that is already
taken. As Brown himself points out: “Sadly, the name was used in 1895 as a name
for the 399th known asteroid."
2. Peace (or its Latin root, Pax)
In a war-torn world, and with terrorism rife, many of you want to use the new planet
to send a message. Patricia Schiavone, of Montevideo, Uruguay summed it up: “I'd
call it Pax because we all feel peace to be very far away, yet it reflects what
most people were wishing for when this new planet was discovered."
3. Galileo
Often referred to as the “father of modern astronomy” and credited with
construction of the first astronomical telescope, Galileo was the leading
suggestion for naming the new planet after a real person. Guillermo Dotto in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, summed up voters' feelings: “I would name it after
Galileo, the genius who provided the means to search outer space.”
Other votes for real people included Isaac Newton, Brahms, Isaac Asimov, Nelson
Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, Euclid, Stephen Hawking,
Mother Theresa, Copernicus, Aristotle and Arthur C Clarke.
I don't know, I thought Cupie would be a cool name.
"Honey, look, Cupie's shining bright tonight!"
"Um, hon, that's a plane."
"Yeah, but she's shining bright tonight!"
Okay, so maybe not.
