The New Horizons mission to Pluto has been a dream come true for scientists, who've waited years to get their first close-up glimpse of the distant dwarf planet. But some of the informal names they're giving its distinctive features are straight out of nightmares. Since Pluto is named for the Roman god of the underworld, the names of its features are receiving monikers based on subterranean and suboceanic characters from fiction and mythology. One of the dark regions near Pluto's south pole, initially called "The Whale" when first spotted from a more distant photo, has now been dubbed Cthulhu, one of the terrible "Great Old Ones" from the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu lurks under the sea in the sunken city of R'lyeh. Other features have been named for Meng-p'o, the Buddhist goddess of forgetfulness and amnesia, and Balrog, a demon from JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series. Two features, Vucub-Came and Hun-Came, are named for Mayan death gods. There's also Krun, named for a Mandaean lord of the underworld, and Ala, the Ibo ruler of the underworld. #PlutoFlyby No idea if this is real (informal names for surface features), but I would love to see Cthulhu on Pluto. pic.twitter.com/eNHMy95sZt— John Moffitt (@JohnRMoffitt) July 15, 2015 Besides being colorful, the names serve a purpose for scientists as well. “We got tired of calling it the dark spot on the left and the dark spot on the right,” Jeffrey M. Moore, the leader of the mission's geology, geophysics and imaging team, told The New York Times. The names are considered informal, but may be presented to the International Astronomical Union, which is responsible for naming celestial objects, to become the official designations of the locations. IAU typically gives naming priority to those who have made the discovery. The names are taken from the winners of an online poll at OurPluto.org. Other high-ranking names that could soon find a home on Pluto or its moon, Charon, include Tartarus (the Greek pit of lost souls), Hades (the Greek name for Pluto) and Anubis (the jackal-headed Egyptian god, one of several associated with death and the underworld), as well as several names related to the works of Tolkien. While many of the unusual names have captured the collective imagination of earthlings on Internet, it's the decision to honor the tentacled Cthulhu that has lit up social media. One of the dark spots on Pluto informally being named Cthulhu should just about indicate the end of everything, we can all go home now.— Cam Banks (@boymonster) July 14, 2015 Now I want to move to Pluto, just so I can live somewhere called "Cthulhu" or "Balrog". https://t.co/rAuByQZ08q— Alex Allan (@hildeleoma) July 14, 2015 There is a feature on Pluto named Cthulhu. This is the best news of the day.— Stephen Winson (@StephenWinson) July 14, 2015 I see they have named a feature on Pluto: "Cthulhu". This is an epic day for fans of our betentacled overlord.— moop (@graspee) July 14, 2015 Great so now I'm gonna see cthulhu with his all-knowing tentacles flapping in the wind whenever I look at Pluto— Rachel Feltman (@RachelFeltman) July 14, 2015 So Pluto informally has Cthulhu and a Balrog and COULD THIS DAY GET ANY BETTER????— Joi (@Joi_the_Artist) July 14, 2015 -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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