Back in the 1980’s, a now-defunct magazine called Science Digest held a contest to name Planet X — the still-undiscovered world that astronomers believed might lie out beyond Pluto. One of the best ...

Pluto may have been demoted to non-planet status, but it still commands a court of five moons, as is fitting for the king of darkness; after all, Pluto is the Roman equivalent of the Greek God Hades.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — If you have ever wanted a chance to make a name for yourself in astronomy, you now have an opportunity. Astronomers who were part of NASA’s New Horizons mission have discovered ...

Planets, moons and other celestial bodies are named according to rules established by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Pluto did not have any rules for naming surface features because, ...