Although it was discovered in 2005, the dwarf planet formerly known as the "eaterbunny" now has been formally named.  Makemake now has it's own identity and I would like to take this opportunity to  welcome Makemake to the neighborhood.

But, man, can you imagine what Pluto is going through right now?  First you lose your spot at the adult's table and then a distant, no-name cousin that hardly anyone knew about comes waltzing in.  Then, he gets a name and everyone starts making a fuss over him!  Poor Pluto.  I bet Pluto is hoping for a Nibiru in his near future.

Seriously, Makemake???  I get the reasoning behind the name, but the name doesn't really fit in.  I mean, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, those are good star names, but Makemake?  Oh well, guess I'll get used to it.

WannaB:

Seriously, Makemake???  I get the reasoning behind the name, but the name doesn't really fit in.  I mean, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, those are good star names, but Makemake?  Oh well, guess I'll get used to it.

yep, sure did.  Thanks for the correction!

Look at it this way: At the annual Solar System Ambassadors Banquet (sorry, JPL), the reps from Pluto have a (so far) very exclusive table ... and when New Horizons arrives in 2015 they will be the featured speakers!

Hers a Cute Video of Pluto losing its name and how sad it is but now really MakeMake who thought of that name?  Well at least Pluto has Xena

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VQuuWb874s

Kratos Aurion:

but now really MakeMake who thought of that name?  Well at least Pluto has Xena

MakeMake was a Polynesian god. I.e. The people of Easter Island (See the link) believed in him.(Forgive me MakeMake if you're a female!)

Xena is now Eris aswell. 

I have to agree with WannaB.  Makemake just doesn't seem like a planet name. 

Yeah, I doubt that we have run out of Roman deities or even semi deities.

It could have been worse. The IAU just allowed an asteroid to be named Raphael Nadal.

Tennis anyone?

L

YEP!!!, that's worse!

leo731:

It could have been worse. The IAU just allowed an asteroid to be named Raphael Nadal.
 

That's either a joke or give me the news story! 

No, it is really true!  Nadal joins several other athletes who have been honored in this way.  Lou Gehrig, Jessie Owens, and Lance Armstrong come to mind but there are several others.  The discoverer of an asteroid is given rather wide latitude in what it shall be named.

Here's a link to the story:

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=reu-nadalasteroiddc&prov=reuters&type=lgns

L

I think the IAU must live on Nadal! 

 Many asteroids are named after people, including entertainers such as James Cagney, Cary Grant, Kirk Douglas, Grace Kelly, Johnny Carson, Meg Ryan, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, the four Beatles, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, and even groups such as Pink Floyd, Yes, and the Beegees.  Others are fictional characters from literature and other sources, e.g., Madhatter, Doctorwatson, James Bond, and Mr. Spock.  

http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/MPNames.html

Dave Mitsky

There's plenty of good Roman god(ess) names out there. Take Bacchus, for example. The god of wine.

I know some people who would approve of that!

Kyle:

Take Bacchus, for example. The god of wine.

Actually Bacchus is represented by the Q-type asteroid #2063. 

Bottoms up,

L

The IAU has shown that it is going to be rather particular in the naming of Planets, Dwarf Planets, and Plutoids but unless the chosen name for an asteroid is offensive it is pretty much fair game.

This leaves the discoverer with the following choices:

Suck up to the hand that fed you and name it after your parent institution.

Suck up to the nearest sports hero, famous actor or actress, or local/national politician so one can meet them and/or get some cash for further research.

Forever please your wife/husband by naming it after them.

Name it after some moldy old god of legend.

Speaking for myself it would be no contest and Asteroid Kimoanh would be gracing the heavens. 

L

Just wanted to start out by saying, this is the longest post like everrrr - ok, anyway, what do you think that they could name something found, in the second, and smaller asteroid belt, that exists beyond neptune AND pluto ??? - anybody know anything about that, or am I in the dark or something? - sumbod-e help me =)

Here is a link to the IAU committee's published rules for naming of celestial objects. That might help!

Scroll down to Minor Planets to read about the rules for asteroids.

This is slightly out of date, as it doesn't mention the new nomenclature from last year's meeting.