In July 2018, Carnegie’s Scott Sheppard announced the discovery of 12 new moons orbiting Jupiter — 11 “normal” outer moons, and one that he called an “oddball.” This brought Jupiter’s total number of known moons to a whopping 79 — the most of any planet in our solar system.

Now the public can help Sheppard and his co-discoverers select the names for five of these newly announced moons!

“I’m excited to get suggestions — and especially eager to see video suggestions — from the public for what these five moons should be named,” Sheppard said.

Contest Launch Date:
February 21, 2019

Contest End Date:
April 15, 2019

How To Submit:
Tweet your suggested moon name to @JupiterLunacy and tell us why you picked it using 280 characters or fewer or a short video. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #NameJupitersMoons.

General Rules:
* Jupiter moons must be named after characters from Roman or Greek mythology who were either descendants or lovers of the god known as Jupiter (Roman) or Zeus (Greeks).
* Submissions must be 16 characters of fewer, preferably one word.
* Submissions must not be offensive in any language or to any culture.
* Submissions must not be too similar to the existing names of any moons or asteroids.
* Names of a purely or principally commercial nature are prohibited.
* Names of individuals, places, or events that are principally known for political, military, or religious activities are not suitable.
* Names commemorating living persons are not allowed.

Rules for Each Individual Moon:
* S/2003 J5 (Jupiter LVII) which is retrograde and thus name must be related to Jupiter or Zeus and end in an “e.”
* S/2003 J15 (Jupiter LVIII) which is retrograde and thus name must be related to Jupiter or Zeus and end in an “e.”
* S/2003 J3 (Jupiter LX) which is retrograde and thus name must be related to Jupiter or Zeus and end in an “e.”
* S/2017 J4 (Jupiter LXV) which is prograde and thus name must be related to Jupiter or Zeus and end in an “a.”
* S/2018 J1 (Jupiter LXXI) which is prograde and thus name must be related to Jupiter or Zeus and end in an “a.”

Learn More:
Further details about how the International Astronomical Union names astronomical objects can be found at https://www.iau.org/public/themes/naming/

This video details some of the possible Jupiter moon names and can tell you more about how the Jupiter moon-naming process works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdAAaix0uvk&feature=youtu.be

Make Sure Your Proposed Name Is Not Already in Use:
Current asteroid names can be checked at the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center at https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search or https://minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/MPNames.html

Existing names for Jupiter’s other moons can be checked at Sheppard’s website: https://sites.google.com/carnegiescience.edu/sheppard/moons