Back in the 1980’s, a now-defunct magazine called Science Digest held a contest to name Planet X — the still-undiscovered world that astronomers believed might lie out beyond Pluto. One of the best ...

Arizona lawmaker Rep. Justin Wilmeth has proposed the dwarf planet known as Pluto to be named the “official state planet” of Arizona. The Republican lawmaker has been bringing awareness to his ...

We have to name stuff. If we didn't, we wouldn't know what we're talking about. When Pluto and its moons were essentially pinpoints, we got along with the bare bones. Not anymore. Every new solar ...

On July 14, NASA’s New Horizons (http://www.nasa.gov/newhorizons) spacecraft will fly past Pluto, offering the first close-up look at that small, distant world and ...

The student-built science instrument on NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto has been renamed to honor one of astronomy’s most famous students – the “little girl” who named the ninth planet more than ...

Want to name Pluto’s two tiniest moons? Then you’ll need to dig deep into mythology. Astronomers announced a contest Monday to name the two itty-bitty moons of Pluto discovered over the past two years ...

The PLUTO community is thrilled to announce the upcoming milestone for the beloved canine character, Pluto, set to enter the public domain on ...

Two quite different astronomy-related matters form the basis for this week's column. My first subject relates to an 87-year-old retired English schoolteacher, Venetia Phair. It seems that she is the ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A dwarf planet orbiting beyond Neptune has been designated the third plutoid in the solar system and given the name Makemake, the International Astronomical Union said on ...