William Shatner Pluto Moon Named Vulcan Gains Steam

As the voting period nears a close, it appears as though one of Pluto's moons will be named Vulcan, if current trends hold up. The name, suggested by Star Trek veteran William Shatner, will be assigned to one of the rocks orbiting the dwarf planet by Mark Showalter at the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute. Via his site, "Pluto Rocks!", Showalter offered guests an opportunity to vote on a number of names for the rocks orbiting Pluto, designating them moons to Pluto's planet. Currently designated P4 and P5, formal names for the bodies will be proposed to the International Astronomical Union after the close of voting next week.