Recently, I’ve learned about two opportunities for the public to contribute in naming key scientific instruments in the astronomy community.
NASA’s Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory twin spacecraft currently have the boring designations A and B, so the space agency is asking U.S. students to come up with more creative names. // Illustration by NASA/JPL-Caltech
First up is a contest to help NASA give the twin
Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft new names. It won’t be hard to beat the current ones, with their creative monikers of GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B. The pair lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on September 10 and will arrive at the Moon near the end of the year. The mission will create a gravity map of the Moon and enable scientists to learn about its internal structure and composition.
The naming contest is open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade at schools in the United States who explain their choice in an essay of no more than 500 words. Teachers must submit the entries using an online entry form by November 11. It’s important to note that a teacher can submit names on behalf of one student or a whole class, but each teacher may only submit one entry per class to be considered in the judging (so either have them work together, or make it a contest within the class with the winning entry being submitted to NASA). If you have any questions, you can email grailcontest@jpl.nasa.gov.
The expanded capabilities of the updated Very Large Array in Socorro, New Mexico, mean the group of 27 antennas needs a new name. // Photo byNRAO/AUI
The other contest doesn’t have an age limit nor does it need an explanation for your choice; you just have to come up with a new name for the
Very Large Array (VLA).
I know what you’re thinking: The VLA is already an icon, the most-famous radio telescope in the world, so why does it need a new name? Well, more than a decade ago, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) began an expansion project to replace the VLA’s original, 1970s-vintage electronics with modern, state-of-the-art equipment. The result is a completely new scientific facility, more than 10 times more sensitive to faint radio emissions from distant astronomical objects than the original VLA system. So, the NRAO is looking for a new name to reflect the array’s 21st-century power.
Your new name can start from scratch, or it can be an additional phrase preceding “Very Large Array.” But whatever you decide on, your entry should highlight this new facility’s leading role in the future of astronomy while also honoring its multitude of past achievements (13,000 observing projects and counting). An entry form for submitting name suggestions, along with rules, is available at http://namethearray.org/.
I always like when scientific institutions want the community to get involved with their projects, especially as we here at Astronomy magazine groan whenever a new, less-than-clever acronym for an instrument or mission comes across our desks. What about you? Do you find some of the names a little dry? Are you going to submit something to the NRAO or have your child enter the GRAIL contest? Share your thoughts and GRAIL ideas (if you’re above the age limit and can’t enter anyway) in the comments section below.