[X] My Assistant

[tfisher]

The New York Times has an update on the debate at the IAU on the
definition of a planet. It sounds like the working group may be leaning towards a simple size definition for people who insist on using "planet" unadorned by an adjective, in which case Xena will probably be declared a planet. (Of course, nothing is final...)

Anyway, I'd like to see some thoughts on what name the object should get. The starting place is the IAU rules: according to Mike Brown, they would want a Roman/Greek deity. Unfortunately, a lot of the good ones have been taken for minor planets and moons. A list of the names that have been taken already by minor planets is here.

I did a little searching; here are a few ideas:
Tartarus This is the lowest region of the world, below even Hades, and also the name of a god identified with the region. Very appropriate for the location, and not a bad sounding name. (This is my best bet.)

Thanatos God of death. Appropriate in relation to Pluto, but too gloomy for a planet -- very much not what a happy father thinking of his daughter would pick!

Persephone Already taken, but... As Brown points out in his page on the planet, this is a very apt name. And it polls well with the public. Well enough to force the asteroid of that name to take a back seat?

Terminus A god of borders between fields, or metaphorically, of frontiers. Appropriate, either for the connotation as the last planet out there, or as one indicating a boundary beyond which more may lie.

Quirinus Catchy sounding name for a god of the state of Rome, a role shared by Jupiter and Mars. Not taken.