How did the planets get their names?
FatCamera/Getty Images
August 20, 2024
How do we name things in space? The quest to name a quasi-moon!
Subscribe
Have you ever wondered how things in space get their names? Us, too! In this week’s episode, Molly and co-host Cassie hear the story of a funky little moon with a very strange name.
It all started when Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser noticed something unusual on his son’s map of the solar system: a moon next to Venus called Zoozve. He’d never heard of Venus having a moon – and he’d definitely never heard of a moon named Zoozve. So, he called up his friend at NASA, and a wild space quest began!
Plus, Latif will share how YOU can enter a contest to name one of Earth’s quasi-moons. And of course, a new mystery sound that we’re really mooning over!
See the quasi-moon’s orbit here!
Featured experts:
Radiolab co-host and host and executive producer of Connected: The Hidden Science of Everything, Latif Nasser.
Resources:
Learn more about the Name a Quasi-Moon! contest at radiolab.org/moon — and submit your own idea!
Audio Transcript
Download transcript (PDF)
CASSIE: You're listening to Brains On, where we're serious about being curious.
ANNOUNCER 1: Brains On is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
[EXCITING, UPBEAT MUSIC]
STAR E. NIGHT: This is Pop Planet, the show where we get up close and personal with the solar system. I'm your host, Star E. Night. And hold on to your asteroid belts because our guess today are a real constellation of solar celebrities. They're the eight, the great planets!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[CHUCKLES] Sorry, folks. Let's try this again. Welcome the planets!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Excuse me one sec. What is going on? Where are they?
CREW MEMBER: Um, sorry, Star. Earth just texted, OMW. I think OMW stands for Oiling My Walruses. So probably, Earth's walruses needed some oil first.
STAR E. NIGHT: What? That's ridiculous. That can't be what OMW means.
CREW MEMBER: Oh, oh, oh, oh, I know, OMW, Organizing Mercury's Wigs. Isn't Mercury always wearing a wig?
STAR E. NIGHT: Oh, yeah. Wait, no, Mercury doesn't wear a wig. That's definitely not it.
CREW MEMBER: I got it! OMW means Ordering More Waffles.
STAR E. NIGHT: No.
CREW MEMBER: Outside Milking Worms?
STAR E. NIGHT: Nah.
CREW MEMBER: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, of course, OMW means On My Way. Earth and the other planets are on their way over.
STAR E. NIGHT: Yeah, that makes sense.
EARTH: What are you talking about?
STAR E. NIGHT: We're just trying to figure out where Earth and the planets were. Wait, you're for Earth!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
And you're here with the other planets!
EARTH: Yeah. Sorry we're late. That's why I texted.
STAR E. NIGHT: Oh, yeah, you said OMW, On My Way.
EARTH: No, I texted Oiling My Walruses. They get so cranky if their skin dries out.
STAR E. NIGHT: What? Never mind. Just glad you're here. Have a seat, and we'll get to our interview right after this break. And wow, Mercury, you look amazing today.
MERCURY: Thanks, Star. I'm wearing my favorite wig.
[THEME MUSIC]
MOLLY BLOOM: You're listening to Brains On from APM Studios. I'm Molly Bloom, and my co-host today is Cassie from Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Hi, Cassie.
CASSIE: Hi, Molly.
MOLLY BLOOM: Is Cassie a nickname, short for something?
CASSIE: Yeah, it's short for Cassandra.
MOLLY BLOOM: Very pretty name. Molly is short for Molmantha, which is not-- just kidding. Molly is just my name, and that's how I like it. But Cassie and I have names on the brain because today we're going to learn how the planets got their names.
CASSIE: We'll hear the story of a funky little moon with a very strange name.
MOLLY BLOOM: And we'll ask all of you for your help with some space names. But first, Cassie, I know you once wanted to work in space. What did you want to do in space?
CASSIE: I wanted to be a moon archeologist.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's really cool. So what-- what is a moon archeologist?
CASSIE: So basically, like, a moon archeologist would, like, go on the moon and, like, try to find bones and, like, rocks and stuff.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's so cool. So do you still want to be a moon archeologist?
CASSIE: No.
MOLLY BLOOM: What do you want to do now?
CASSIE: I want to, like, be in a band and, like, make music.
MOLLY BLOOM: What instruments would be in your band?
CASSIE: Keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, drums, obviously/ I'd probably sing.
MOLLY BLOOM: So why do you want to be a musician? What has made that exciting to you, do you think?
CASSIE: I just really like making music, and I play a lot of instruments already. I know how to play a little bit of piano. I know how to play flute. I know how to play guitar.
MOLLY BLOOM: If you could, would you still want to visit the moon?
CASSIE: Yes, because I think it would be cool.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, how about play some music on the moon? Be the first band on the moon?
CASSIE: That would be really cool.
MOLLY BLOOM: I think that maybe should be the new goal, to be the first band on the moon.
CASSIE: The first band to sell out a show on the moon.
MOLLY BLOOM: [CHUCKLES] Yeah, exactly. You just have to be sure you clean up afterwards because I know people have left a lot of garbage on that moon, so clean it up. OK, so are you still interested in space, would you say?
CASSIE: Yes, very much. I have a lot of books about it, and I just think it's cool because, like, there's so much of it that we haven't explored, and it's so big.
MOLLY BLOOM: What are some of your favorite space things to think about?
CASSIE: I thinking about, like, how many other planets out there have, like, life on them.
MOLLY BLOOM: What do you think? Do you think there are planets with life on them out there?
CASSIE: Oh, definitely. There's, like, so much more of space out there. We can't be the only planet that has some type of life form.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, Cassie, I am glad you are such a space fan because we've got some spacey questions to answer today.
ADA: Hi. I'm Ada.
CHARLIE: And I'm Charlie.
ADA: We are from Portland, Oregon
CHARLIE: And we're wondering--
ADA: Why are so many planets named after the Roman gods? Thank you.
LUCA: Hi. My name is Luca. I'm Angeles, California. How did the solar system and all the planets get their names?
MOLLY BLOOM: Great questions. Let's find out.
CASSIE: There are eight planets orbiting around our sun.
MOLLY BLOOM: In order from closest to the sun to farthest away, it goes--
CASSIE: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
MOLLY BLOOM: Pluto used to be considered a planet, but now it's classified as a dwarf planet. We have a whole episode about that at brainson.org.
CASSIE: Speaking of episodes, let's turn on that Pop Planet show. They're going to interview the planets about their names.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ooh, perfect. Let's watch.
[EXCITING, UPBEAT MUSIC]
STAR E. NIGHT: Welcome back. My guests today are the eight planets!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Now you are all so iconic. Jupiter, not only are you ginormous, but your big swirly storms are the talk of the solar system.
JUPITER: Thank you. I'm burly and swirly.
STAR E. NIGHT: And, Saturn, that ring, inspired.
SATURN: You know, Star, they used to say a planet with a ring was just a hoop dream. But I showed them.
STAR E. NIGHT: You sure did. OK, I got to ask, the names, where do they come from? Mars, you want to take this one?
MARS: Sure. I could talk about names till I'm red in the face. It really started with me, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury. Way back in the day, we were the only planets that humans knew about. Uranus wasn't quite bright enough for humans to tell it was a planet, and you couldn't see Neptune at all.
STAR E. NIGHT: You mean thousands of years ago, before telescopes, humans could only see a few of you with just their eyes?
MARS: Exactly. And humans thought we were dazzling, so they named us. Different cultures around the world called us different things. But in english, the names come from the ancient Romans. They named us after the gods in their mythologies.
JUPITER: They named me after Jupiter, the King of the gods. Makes sense, I'm the biggest.
MERCURY: Mercury here. I orbit the sun really fast, like zip, zap, zoom. Only takes me 88 Earth days to whip around the whole ginormous sun. So they named me after the speedy messenger of the gods Mercury.
MARS: Mars, that's me. Well, they thought I looked red like blood, so they named me after the god of war. Venus here looks so sparkly and bright from Earth, so they named it after Venus, the god of love and beauty. And Saturn is named after the God of agriculture and time.
STAR E. NIGHT: Amazing! Must be an honor to have such mythologically mighty names. And what about you, Earth? What god are you named after?
MERCURY: Ooh, that's a sensitive--
JUPITER: Yeah, Earth's kind of touchy about--
EARTH: No, it's-- it's fine, guys. It's fine. I've come to terms with it.
STAR E. NIGHT: Terms? With what?
EARTH: Well, I am not named after a god. My name comes from old English or Germanic words for ground, which is cool. I'm grounded. I've got ground all around. And besides, they may be named after gods, but I'm the only planet with walruses.
MERCURY: Ugh, there you go again, Earth, always rubbing it in.
JUPITER: It's so unfair. What I wouldn't give to have walruses on old Jupiter.
MERCURY: I know. They're so cool, right?
JUPITER: The coolest. I mean, tusks? Get out of here with that. I want them.
STAR E. NIGHT: Fascinating stuff. Well, that's all we have time for today. I'm Star E. Night, and this has been Pop Planet. Now, Earth, how much exactly do the walruses need to be oiled?
CASSIE: There are lots of things in space besides these eight planets.
MOLLY BLOOM: Like asteroids and comets.
CASSIE: Moons and stars.
MOLLY BLOOM: Some of these things have official names, but many don't.
CASSIE: And one celestial body recently went from being pretty much unknown to famous.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's right. And the science podcast Radiolab did an episode all about it. Here to tell us more is Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser. Hi, Latif.
LATIF NASSER: Hi.
CASSIE: Hi.
LATIF NASSER: Hello to both of you. Thanks for having me.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, my gosh, we're so glad you're here.
CASSIE: So the story starts when you were putting your son to bed one night. Can you tell us what happened?
LATIF NASSER: Sure, yeah, of course.
[INTRIGUING MUSIC]
So one night, I was putting my son to bed, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw this poster on the wall that we had put there, my wife and I. It's a poster of the solar system, right? And I saw out of the corner of my eye, this thing I had never seen before on that poster, which was that next to the little circle for Venus, there was a dot, which was supposed to be a moon. And I was like, huh, that's weird. Like, I didn't know Venus had a moon. I don't remember learning about that.
And so I looked it up. And on the NASA website, it said that Venus did not have a moon. And I was like, that's weird. And so the next morning I looked at that poster. I looked at it again. And not only did Venus have a moon on the poster, which I think shouldn't have been there, but then also that Venus moon had a name, and the name was Z-O-O-Z-V-E. How would you pronounce that, Cassie?
CASSIE: Zoozve?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, right? Zoozve, Zoozve, something like that. So I was like, that's weird. So I googled that. Nothing. No results in English for Zoozve.
CASSIE: Huh?
LATIF NASSER: And I was like, that's really weird, uh, kind of a mystery, right?
CASSIE: Yeah.
LATIF NASSER: So I kind of was like, where do I even go with this? So I have a friend. Her name is Liz Landau, and Liz works for NASA. And kind of her job would be like if reporters or other people had questions about space, they would go to her. So she's like an expert at fielding these kinds of questions. So I called her and she had no idea what I was talking about. Like, she's never gotten this question from anybody before.
CASSIE: That's weird.
LATIF NASSER: Really weird, right? I was like, oh, come on, somebody must have asked this. But she said, no, I don't know what you're talking about. So then I hung up with her and I was like, what-- what am I going to do? But then she texted me back and she was like, I figured it out. It's not Zoozve or Zoozve. It's 2002 VE. It's like a typo or something. I later found out the guy who was the designer of that poster-- his name was Alex Foster-- he mistook his own handwriting, and made it Z's and O's instead of twos and zeros.
Then I was like, oh, cool, so that really is a thing. But then that led me to the next question of, like, what even is this thing? How come NASA is saying Venus doesn't have a moon and this poster is saying that it does? And it turned out it's kind of a moon, but kind of not a moon. It's this whole new category of thing called a quasi-moon.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CASSIE: And what is a quasi-moon?
LATIF NASSER: So a quasi-moon is an asteroid that orbits the sun like a planet does.
CASSIE: Mm-hmm.
LATIF NASSER: But also, at the same time, it's orbiting a planet. So it's doing what a moon does and doing what a planet does at the same time. And because it's doing this three-way dance, it's really hard to predict and kind of strange.
CASSIE: That's really cool. So are there other quasi-moons out there?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, so this one was the first one they ever found. And then after that, they started discovering more of them and more of them and more of them. And guess what. They discovered some around Earth. We have quasi-moons too, not just Venus. And we have something like seven quasi-moons, maybe more, but they just keep discovering them.
CASSIE: Are all quasi-moons the same? Are there different types.
LATIF NASSER: Should I tell you some of the kinds? You want to hear some of the kinds of quasi-moons that they found out there?
CASSIE: Sure.
LATIF NASSER: So when you look at them from the perspective of the sun, they just look like a planet, like they're going around just sort of hula hooping, right? But if you look at them from the perspective of the closest planet, from Venus or from Earth, they just do weird dances around us that are-- like you would-- I never thought were even possible. So, for example, there are some that go around in a loop, right? There are some that, they don't do a full loop around the planet. It, like, goes around as if it's doing a loop, and then it'll, like, turn around and go back the other way, kind of like a horseshoe.
And then there's another kind, it just looks like it's staying still. It's just, like, hanging out, like, next to us and not moving at all, which is really weird. I think of it like it's Earth's Secret Service agent or something.
[CHUCKLING]
Yeah. And then there's another one, and this one's kind of my favorite, where it just, like, kind of almost, like, wiggles back and forth, making, like, a comma shape. And the name for this is my favorite. They're called tadpoles--
[CHUCKLING]
--which is kind of awesome. And, like, for me, I don't know. I'm like, whoa, I didn't know things could move that way in space before. I thought everything was just making sort of an oval or a circle. But there are these other things and they're making all these funny movements.
CASSIE: Yeah, I thought they only moved in circles, too.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah. Cool, right?
CASSIE: So what happened after you learned about this quasi-moon 2002 VE?
LATIF NASSER: I kind of-- to be honest with you, even though it's sort of just a space rock, I kind of fell in love with it. Like, I was like, oh, this thing is so interesting. And part of the thing I fell in love with actually was the name Zoozve. And I was like, oh, what if I could get them to actually name it Zoozve? Like, do you think they could actually name it Zoozve? So there's this group called the International Astronomical Union, and they are in charge of naming all the things in space. And so I put in a petition to actually officially rename 2002 VE Zoozve.
MOLLY BLOOM: Did it work? Did they accept the submission?
CASSIE: We'll find out in just a moment. Suspense, excitement. But first, it's time for-- (WHISPERING) Mystery sound.
MOLLY BLOOM: Hey, that's my line. But honestly, you sounded great doing it. Latif, would you like to play the mystery sound game with me and Cassie?
LATIF NASSER: Are you kidding? It would be my honor. I would love to do it.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, wonderful. Cassie, are you ready for the mystery sound?
CASSIE: I was born ready.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here it is.
[CLANKING AND GRATING]
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, who would like to guess first?
LATIF NASSER: Cassie, you go first.
CASSIE: I have a really good guess because I think I know what it is. It sounds like someone's, like, cutting, like, a carrot or, like, a piece of lettuce or they're, like, cutting cardboard.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, something being cut, either something edible or not edible, we're not sure.
CASSIE: Something edible or cardboard.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. What do you think, Latif?
LATIF NASSER: I'm old enough to remember rotary telephones. I think it might be a rotary telephone being dialed.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, can you describe what that is? What is a rotary telephone?
LATIF NASSER: There used to be a phone, and it had this, like, circle on the front of it, and the circle, had little circular holes all the way around, and each of those holes had numbers in them. And then to dial the number, you would have to put your finger on the-- whatever-- 7. And then you would, like, pull it around and then you'd let go. And then it would make that kind of noise, maybe somewhat similar noise to this. And then you would just have to one at a time dial each of those numbers to get your phone number.
CASSIE: I've seen those in old movies.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, that's the one.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, do you guys want to hear it one more time?
LATIF NASSER: Sure.
CASSIE: Yes, please.
[CLANKING AND GRATING]
CASSIE: It's definitely cutting some type of vegetable.
MOLLY BLOOM: What do you think, Latif? You're sticking with the phone?
LATIF NASSER: No, I had a totally different idea. OK, there's those, like, wooden puzzles where you can, like, move around the tiles and then it makes a picture. You know what I'm talking about?
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm-hmm, yeah, it's like they're kind of, like, fixed in the puzzle, and you slide them around--
LATIF NASSER: That's right.
MOLLY BLOOM: --left and right, yeah.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what-- that's what it was in my imagination. I don't know.
MOLLY BLOOM: I love it. These are both excellent guesses. We're going to hear it again at the end of the show and the answer, so stick around.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
We are working on an episode all about animal leadership and we want to hear from you. What animal do you think would make an excellent leader? What qualities do you think are important for a leader to have? What could our human leaders learn from this animal? Cassie, what animal do you think would make a good president?
CASSIE: I think a whale would be a good president because I know whales are really smart, or maybe dolphins.
MOLLY BLOOM: Who do you think should be at the top of the ticket? The dolphin or the whale?
CASSIE: Dolphin, because I know they know how to use tools too. And they have, basically, their own language.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent. Latif, do you have any opinions on an animal that would make a good president?
LATIF NASSER: I agree with whales have a lot of gravitas. You know, they are big and they hold the room. And they will, like-- when whales talk, people listen, you know?
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm-hmm, they really do. Well, listeners, we want to hear from you. Record your answer and send it to us at brainson.org/contact. While you're there, send us your mystery sounds, drawings, and questions.
CASSIE: Like this one.
KIDS: How do birds fly?
MOLLY BLOOM: You can find answers to questions like these on the Moment of Um podcast. a short dose of facts and fun every weekday. Find Moment of Um and more at brainson.org.
CASSIE: So keep listening.
ANNOUNCER 2: Brains On Universe is a family of podcasts for kids and their adults. Since you're a fan of Brains On, we know you'll love the other shows in our universe. Come on, let's explore.
ROBOTIC VOICE: Entering Brains On Universe. Do you find my favorite podcasts, Brains On, Smash Boom Best, Forever Ago. [GASPS] Picking up signal Smash Boom Best, the smart, funny debate show.
SPEAKER 1: Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish.
SPEAKER 2: Skitter, skitter, skitter. Tail, tails, tail turn, tail turn. Skitter, skitter skitter, skitter, tail turn.
SPEAKER 3: Is that a rat noise I hear?
SPEAKER 2: That is a rat noise!
SPEAKER 1: A classic rat noise.
SPEAKER 3: Tail, tail, tail.
SPEAKER 2: Tail turn, Tail turn.
SPEAKER 1: Turn, turn, turn, turn, skip.
ROBOTIC VOICE: Zorp! Where'd did the signal go? Must find smash boom best now!
[BOOM]
WOMAN: Listen to Smash Boom Best wherever you get your podcasts.
VOICES: Brains! Brains On!
- You're listening to Brains On. I'm Cassie.
MOLLY: And I'm Molly. Today we're talking about how things in space get their names.
CASSIE: All the planets, except for Earth, were named after Roman gods.
MOLLY: But there are a ton of other things in space, like asteroids and stars, that don't have names, or they have names that could be a little more fun, like 2002VE, the quasi moon Latif discovered on the map in his son's bedroom.
So Latif, what happened? Did you get to rename 2002VE Zoozve?
LATIF NASSER: It worked. It shouldn't have worked, because they have so many rules about how you can name things. One of them is that, if something is a certain distance from Earth, you have to name it after a mythological character or something from mythology.
And this was not a mythological name, so I was like, oh, it's definitely not going to work. But then I think they thought the story was funny about the poster and everything. So then they were like, OK, usually, they have to be mythological names, but we'll make this one exception. So they actually officially named it Zoozve.
CASSIE: That's really cool.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, funny, right?
CASSIE: Yeah. What are the rules for naming an object in space?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, so if you want to name something in the solar system, the name has to be 16 characters or less, so it has to be a short-ish name. It has to be named after a mythological character or some name from mythology, but that could be fictional mythology. They've named stuff after The Lord of the Rings and stuff like that.
CASSIE: That's cool.
LATIF NASSER: People used to name stuff after their pet but they're not allowed to do that anymore. People got upset.
So you can't name things after yourself. You can't name things after politicians. You can't name things after a product or a company. So you can't be like, oh, this is the Twinkie asteroid or something.
So yeah, they have a lot of rules. And Zoozve didn't exactly fit the rules, but they made an exception.
CASSIE: That's really cool.
MOLLY: Are there similar rules for when scientists discover new species of animals?
LATIF NASSER: It's similar in that the discoverer usually has first dibs to name the thing. But it's like whoever discovers it gets to mostly name it whatever they want. But I think now there's more and more rules.
MOLLY: And is it the same in space, where the person who discovers it gets first dibs?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, the discoverer gets first dibs, but that only lasts for something like 10 years. And then after 10 years, they open it up to anybody who wants to name it. And that was the case for Zoozve.
The person who discovered it, he had actually discovered so many things in space. I was like, you discovered this cool thing called a quasi moon! And he's like, I discovered a what? He didn't even know. It was very funny. So the discoverers have first dibs on naming for about 10 years. And then after that, they open it up to anybody who wants to name it.
CASSIE: That's interesting.
MOLLY: So Latif, you successfully got 2002VE renamed to Zoozve. What next?
LATIF NASSER: So I and my team at Radiolab, we had so much fun getting Zoozve named that we were like, everybody should get a turn to do this because it's so fun.
And remember, Earth has a bunch of quasi moons, right? And a lot of those quasi moons of Earth don't have names. And so we approached this group, the International Astronomical Union-- in my head, I called them the Guardians of the Galaxy because I feel like that's really what they are.
So I approached this group, and I was like, hey, could we partner together, Radiolab and International Astronomical Union, to make a contest to let people, the people of Earth, name an Earth quasi moon. Bum ba da bum! And they said yes. So that's what we're doing.
CASSIE: That's really cool.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah! So we found a quasi moon, an = quasi moon, and we picked the weirdest one that we possibly could find whose orbit looks like it's-- I don't know-- really dizzy. And it's wandering around. You're like, what?
It's a rock. It's probably gray. It's shaped like a potato the size of the Eiffel Tower, basically, if you can imagine that, an Eiffel Tower potato. And it doesn't have a name.
And so we are taking name submissions from all over the world, and then we're going to boil those down to just a few options. And then we're going to have everybody vote on it.
CASSIE: I have a question.
LATIF NASSER: Sure.
CASSIE: Would a potato moon Eiffel Tower be considered a French fry?
LATIF NASSER: A French-- ooh, such a good-- such a good question. It would be inedible, but it would be-- it does feel very French, yeah, to me.
MOLLY: So we actually have a picture of the quasi moon's orbit on our website. This is how the quasi moon moves. Cassie, what do you think it looks like?
CASSIE: It looks like a pretzel.
MOLLY: Ooh, another delicious (LAUGHING) thing.
CASSIE: It also looks like-- if you've ever seen the X-ray of a human, it looks like the shoulder bone.
LATIF NASSER: Ooh, I like that. That's good.
MOLLY: It looks like a butterfly to me.
CASSIE: Oh, yeah.
LATIF NASSER: Or also a saddle.
CASSIE: Yeah.
MOLLY: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I can see that.
CASSIE: It also looks like a gas mask.
LATIF NASSER: Oh, whoa, I did not see that coming, interesting. We were doing this, and we had-- every member of our staff that was in the office that day. Everyone came in, and we were like, what does this look like? We did it one at a time. Everybody had a different answer.
MOLLY: That is incredible. So yeah, listeners, go check it out at our website, brainson.org. You can see this very cool orbit of the moon that we're looking for names for.
So Latif, when people can submit their names, do they have to follow those rules?
LATIF NASSER: The International Astronomical Union set? Yeah, they do have to follow the rules. So it does have to be a mythological name, and it can be any culture anywhere all over the world.
In my imagination, it's like a trickster. Maybe there's some trickster from some cultures, mythology. But if you can look at that orbit and see some kind of mythological resonance with something else out there, yeah, please, submit a name.
MOLLY: Cassie, do any ideas come to mind about what this quasi moon should be called?
CASSIE: Well, I said it looked like shoulder bones, so I was thinking maybe Atlas because he carries the heavens on his shoulders. But there's already something in space called Atlas.
LATIF NASSER: Right, right, that makes sense. But that was a good idea. I like the shoulder-to-Atlas connection.
MOLLY: Yeah, that is really cool. Well, listeners, if you would like to suggest a name, head to radiolab.org/moon to learn more and submit your idea. They're accepting submissions until the end of September, so there's still plenty of time.
CASSIE: And remember, you'll need an adult to help you prepare your submission.
MOLLY: Latif, are there any other words of wisdom, advice, to share since you're someone who has successfully named an object?
LATIF NASSER: My best advice would be to think about, is there a special connection between that name and the thing? Is there something about the thing that reminds you of the name or something about the name that reminds you of the thing? But try to focus on that connection right there.
MOLLY: Excellent advice. And Latif, do you think it's important to name things in space? Does it help people feel more connected?
LATIF NASSER: Oh, yeah. I think it's almost like we all live in a house together, and for whatever reason-- maybe we're grounded or something. We can't leave the house. But we can look out of the window and see all the interesting things that are happening in our neighborhood.
And so you want to be able to talk about it. And to do that, you need to name things. But then also, it's like, this is our neighborhood. It's an extension of our home. Even though we can't go there and kick around pebbles and stuff, this is still our neighborhood.
And I think there's something really special and important about that, for us all to know where we live and what's around us. I don't know. To me at least, that feels very basic.
MOLLY: Latif, thanks so much for talking with us. We cannot wait to submit our ideas. But before you go, are you ready to go back to the mystery sound?
CASSIE: Yes.
LATIF NASSER: Oh, yeah!
MOLLY: All right, here it is again.
[CUTTING]
[GRATING]
All right, new thoughts.
CASSIE: I don't have any new thoughts. I'm 100% sure it's cutting some sort of vegetable on a cutting board.
MOLLY: OK, great. What about you, Latif? What do you think?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, no new thoughts. It's either a rotary telephone or a wooden puzzle or cutting or something completely different than all of those.
CASSIE: It could be anything.
MOLLY: It really could. Maybe it's Zoozve saying Hi. We don't know. All right, here is the answer.
JUNE: Hi, my name is June, and I'm from Brooklyn, New York City. The sound you just heard was the sound of me hand cranking a pencil in a pencil sharpener.
[GASPING]
LATIF NASSER: Of course.
MOLLY: A pencil sharpener?
CASSIE: I was so sure it was cutting vegetables. It sounded just like it!
MOLLY: Well, wood of a pencil is from a plant. So in a way, it's being shaved, which is close to cutting.
LATIF NASSER: That's true.
CASSIE: So was I right, technically?
MOLLY: I'm giving you partial credit.
CASSIE: Yay!
LATIF NASSER: Can we hear it one more time? Yeah, absolutely.
[PENCIL SHARPENING]
LATIF NASSER: Oh!
MOLLY: So this is like one of those sharpeners in the classroom, the big ones.
CASSIE: Yeah, I hear it now because, at my house, we have one that's like that.
LATIF NASSER: And also, the cranking feels like the dialing of the phone.
MOLLY: Yes, exactly. It's around movement. So you were close. I'm also giving you partial credit.
LATIF NASSER: Oof, I'll take it.
MOLLY: Excellent work, both of you. That was a tricky one.
LATIF NASSER: It was like if you combine our two guesses, it's like we got it.
MOLLY: Exactly. Teamwork. Well, Latif, thank you again for joining us. It's a true pleasure.
CASSIE: Yeah, thanks. Bye.
LATIF NASSER: Bye.
MOLLY: Bye.
ROBOTIC VOICE: Brains, brains, Brains On.
MOLLY: That is such a cool story, and now I really want to submit a quasi moon name too at radiolab.org/moon. But Cassie, why do you think it's cool to name things in space?
CASSIE: I think it's cool because, if one day someone is stargazing, and they look up in the sky, and they're like, oh, that's so and so, it'd probably be cool knowing that you named something in space and everybody's going to be using that name for that one particular object. And it's like you're in space when you're not really in space, if that makes sense.
MOLLY: Yeah, totally. That does make sense. Well, Cassie, speaking of naming things, have you ever noticed how Earth's moon is just called Moon?
CASSIE: Yeah, other moons in our solar system have unique names like Titan, Callisto, and Mimas.
MOLLY: But ours is just Moon with a capital M. It's a fine name, very accurate. But what if it had another name? We asked all of you what you would name our moon if it were up to you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
OWEN: My name is Owen. I live in Santa Clara, California, and my new name for the moon is Seeker.
SUBJECT 1: I think the moon should be called Saturn Moon because Saturn is my favorite planet.
MARTHA LUCIA: Hi, my name is Martha Lucia. I am seven years old and from San Leandro, California. I would name the moon Shine Super Bright because the moon shines bright.
SUBJECT 2: Bright Moon of History.
VIOLET: Hey, my name is Violet from Knoxville, Tennessee. And what I would rename the moon is Artemis because, one, she's my favorite goddess, and, two, she's the goddess of the moon.
HOLLAND: Hi, my name is Holland from Arizona. I think it should be Mr. Crater because the moon has craters.
VERA: My name is Vera, and my name for our moon would be Athena after the Greek goddess of war and wisdom.
MARSHALL: Hi, my name is Marshall, and I think the moon should be called Zib Zab because it is a funny name.
MONA: Hi, I'm Mona from Toronto, Canada, and I think the moon should be called Earth Friend because it's beside the Earth. But it's not the Earth.
MOLLY: Thanks to all of you for sending in those excellent names for our pal the Moon.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CASSIE: Our planets were named after Roman gods.
MOLLY: Except Earth. The word Earth comes from the Germanic word for ground.
CASSIE: But there are lots of other things in space that need names.
MOLLY: Our friend Latif Nasser from Radiolab renamed the quasi moon 2002VE Zoozve.
CASSIE: And now you have a chance to rename a quasi moon too.
MOLLY: Head to radiolab.org/moon to learn how you can submit your idea.
CASSIE: And remember, you have until September 30, 2024 at midnight to do it.
MOLLY: So get brainstorming, and aim for the stars.
CASSIE: This episode was written by--
SANDEN TOTTEN: Sanden Totten.
CASSIE: --and
ROSSIE DUPONT: Rosie DuPont.
CASSIE: --and edited by--
SHALA FARZAN: Shahla Farzan.
CASSIE: Fact checking is by--
JESS MILLER: Jess Miller.
MOLLY: We had engineering help from Gary O'Keefe and Jess Berg with sound design by--
RACHEL BREES: Rachel Brees.
MOLLY: --original theme music by--
MARC SANCHEZ: Marc Sanchez.
CASSIE: We had production help from the rest of the Brains On Universe team.
MOLLY: Molly Bloom, Anna Goldfield, Nico Gonzalez Whistler, Ruby Guthrie,
TEAM: Lauren Humpert, Joshua Ray, Marc Sanchez, Charlotte Traver, Anna Weggel, and Aron Woldeslassie.
MOLLY: Beth Perlman is our executive producer. And the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Special thanks to Latif Nasser, Jessica Santoro, and Richard Sanfilippo.
CASSIE: Brains On is a nonprofit Public Radio program.
MOLLY: There are lots of ways to support the show. Subscribe to Brains On Universe on YouTube, where you can watch animated versions of some of your favorite episodes, or head to brainson.org.
CASSIE: While you're there, you can send us mystery sounds, drawings, and questions.
MOLLY: Now it's time for the Brains Honor Roll. These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings, and high fives. Waylon from Austin, Texas; Margo from Hilton Head, South Carolina; Benny from Beacon, New York; Javier from Lewisville, Texas; Kylee and Cairo from League City, Texas.
Eli from Havertown, Pennsylvania; Wyatt and Parker from Phoenix, Arizona; Norah from Brooklyn, New York; Rosalind and Sylvie from Duluth, Minnesota; Elodie from Halifax, Nova Scotia; Elon From Nampa, Idaho; Afton from Charlotte, North Carolina; Toby from St. Paul, Minnesota; Dean from Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Mia from Taipei, Taiwan; Liam from Lafayette, Colarado; Gracie and Philip from Friendswood, Texas; Jessi from San Jose, California; Asher from Edmonds, Washington; Mia from Cortland Manor, New York; Eva from Evanston, Illinois; Grace and Eleanor from Winchester, Virgina; Margo from St. Albert, Alberta, Ryan from Seattle, Owen from American Fork.
Aidan from Austin, Texas; Chloe from Bradford, UK; Sigrid from Graettinger, Iowa; Clear from Cave Creek, Arizona; Ezra from Pleasanton, Kansas; Stella from Austin, Texas; Addy from Washington, DC; Maximus from Toronto; Cora-Jane from Petaluma, California; Tala from Richmond, California; Lee and Marc from Maryland.
Greyson from Edmonton; Thomas from Long Beach, California; Rigby from Westland, Oregon; Eberle from Portland, Oregon, Ellia from St. Paul, Minnesota; Adelaide from Killeen, Texas, Amelia from Kensington, Maryland; Griffin from Sebastian, Florida.
Hailey and Nora from Stoughton, Wisconsin; Emma from Woodbridge, Virginia; Rosie from Newburgh, Indiana; Arkin from Sooke, British Columbia; Atlas from Portland, Oregon; Kinley and River from St. Augustine, Florida; Elia from Fort Worth, Texas; Azrael and Issa from Cathedral City, California; Simon from Jefferson, Maine.
Charlotte from Oklahoma; Bruno from Alameda, California; Cora from Chicago; and Helix and Remy from Los Angeles.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ROBOTIC VOICE: (SINGING) Brains on all our lives
MOLLY: We'll be back in two weeks with an episode about why some people need glasses.
CASSIE: Thanks for listening.
ANNOUNCER 1: Brains On is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
[EXCITING, UPBEAT MUSIC]
STAR E. NIGHT: This is Pop Planet, the show where we get up close and personal with the solar system. I'm your host, Star E. Night. And hold on to your asteroid belts because our guess today are a real constellation of solar celebrities. They're the eight, the great planets!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[CHUCKLES] Sorry, folks. Let's try this again. Welcome the planets!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Excuse me one sec. What is going on? Where are they?
CREW MEMBER: Um, sorry, Star. Earth just texted, OMW. I think OMW stands for Oiling My Walruses. So probably, Earth's walruses needed some oil first.
STAR E. NIGHT: What? That's ridiculous. That can't be what OMW means.
CREW MEMBER: Oh, oh, oh, oh, I know, OMW, Organizing Mercury's Wigs. Isn't Mercury always wearing a wig?
STAR E. NIGHT: Oh, yeah. Wait, no, Mercury doesn't wear a wig. That's definitely not it.
CREW MEMBER: I got it! OMW means Ordering More Waffles.
STAR E. NIGHT: No.
CREW MEMBER: Outside Milking Worms?
STAR E. NIGHT: Nah.
CREW MEMBER: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, of course, OMW means On My Way. Earth and the other planets are on their way over.
STAR E. NIGHT: Yeah, that makes sense.
EARTH: What are you talking about?
STAR E. NIGHT: We're just trying to figure out where Earth and the planets were. Wait, you're for Earth!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
And you're here with the other planets!
EARTH: Yeah. Sorry we're late. That's why I texted.
STAR E. NIGHT: Oh, yeah, you said OMW, On My Way.
EARTH: No, I texted Oiling My Walruses. They get so cranky if their skin dries out.
STAR E. NIGHT: What? Never mind. Just glad you're here. Have a seat, and we'll get to our interview right after this break. And wow, Mercury, you look amazing today.
MERCURY: Thanks, Star. I'm wearing my favorite wig.
[THEME MUSIC]
MOLLY BLOOM: You're listening to Brains On from APM Studios. I'm Molly Bloom, and my co-host today is Cassie from Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Hi, Cassie.
CASSIE: Hi, Molly.
MOLLY BLOOM: Is Cassie a nickname, short for something?
CASSIE: Yeah, it's short for Cassandra.
MOLLY BLOOM: Very pretty name. Molly is short for Molmantha, which is not-- just kidding. Molly is just my name, and that's how I like it. But Cassie and I have names on the brain because today we're going to learn how the planets got their names.
CASSIE: We'll hear the story of a funky little moon with a very strange name.
MOLLY BLOOM: And we'll ask all of you for your help with some space names. But first, Cassie, I know you once wanted to work in space. What did you want to do in space?
CASSIE: I wanted to be a moon archeologist.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's really cool. So what-- what is a moon archeologist?
CASSIE: So basically, like, a moon archeologist would, like, go on the moon and, like, try to find bones and, like, rocks and stuff.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's so cool. So do you still want to be a moon archeologist?
CASSIE: No.
MOLLY BLOOM: What do you want to do now?
CASSIE: I want to, like, be in a band and, like, make music.
MOLLY BLOOM: What instruments would be in your band?
CASSIE: Keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, drums, obviously/ I'd probably sing.
MOLLY BLOOM: So why do you want to be a musician? What has made that exciting to you, do you think?
CASSIE: I just really like making music, and I play a lot of instruments already. I know how to play a little bit of piano. I know how to play flute. I know how to play guitar.
MOLLY BLOOM: If you could, would you still want to visit the moon?
CASSIE: Yes, because I think it would be cool.
MOLLY BLOOM: Yeah, how about play some music on the moon? Be the first band on the moon?
CASSIE: That would be really cool.
MOLLY BLOOM: I think that maybe should be the new goal, to be the first band on the moon.
CASSIE: The first band to sell out a show on the moon.
MOLLY BLOOM: [CHUCKLES] Yeah, exactly. You just have to be sure you clean up afterwards because I know people have left a lot of garbage on that moon, so clean it up. OK, so are you still interested in space, would you say?
CASSIE: Yes, very much. I have a lot of books about it, and I just think it's cool because, like, there's so much of it that we haven't explored, and it's so big.
MOLLY BLOOM: What are some of your favorite space things to think about?
CASSIE: I thinking about, like, how many other planets out there have, like, life on them.
MOLLY BLOOM: What do you think? Do you think there are planets with life on them out there?
CASSIE: Oh, definitely. There's, like, so much more of space out there. We can't be the only planet that has some type of life form.
MOLLY BLOOM: Well, Cassie, I am glad you are such a space fan because we've got some spacey questions to answer today.
ADA: Hi. I'm Ada.
CHARLIE: And I'm Charlie.
ADA: We are from Portland, Oregon
CHARLIE: And we're wondering--
ADA: Why are so many planets named after the Roman gods? Thank you.
LUCA: Hi. My name is Luca. I'm Angeles, California. How did the solar system and all the planets get their names?
MOLLY BLOOM: Great questions. Let's find out.
CASSIE: There are eight planets orbiting around our sun.
MOLLY BLOOM: In order from closest to the sun to farthest away, it goes--
CASSIE: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
MOLLY BLOOM: Pluto used to be considered a planet, but now it's classified as a dwarf planet. We have a whole episode about that at brainson.org.
CASSIE: Speaking of episodes, let's turn on that Pop Planet show. They're going to interview the planets about their names.
MOLLY BLOOM: Ooh, perfect. Let's watch.
[EXCITING, UPBEAT MUSIC]
STAR E. NIGHT: Welcome back. My guests today are the eight planets!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Now you are all so iconic. Jupiter, not only are you ginormous, but your big swirly storms are the talk of the solar system.
JUPITER: Thank you. I'm burly and swirly.
STAR E. NIGHT: And, Saturn, that ring, inspired.
SATURN: You know, Star, they used to say a planet with a ring was just a hoop dream. But I showed them.
STAR E. NIGHT: You sure did. OK, I got to ask, the names, where do they come from? Mars, you want to take this one?
MARS: Sure. I could talk about names till I'm red in the face. It really started with me, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury. Way back in the day, we were the only planets that humans knew about. Uranus wasn't quite bright enough for humans to tell it was a planet, and you couldn't see Neptune at all.
STAR E. NIGHT: You mean thousands of years ago, before telescopes, humans could only see a few of you with just their eyes?
MARS: Exactly. And humans thought we were dazzling, so they named us. Different cultures around the world called us different things. But in english, the names come from the ancient Romans. They named us after the gods in their mythologies.
JUPITER: They named me after Jupiter, the King of the gods. Makes sense, I'm the biggest.
MERCURY: Mercury here. I orbit the sun really fast, like zip, zap, zoom. Only takes me 88 Earth days to whip around the whole ginormous sun. So they named me after the speedy messenger of the gods Mercury.
MARS: Mars, that's me. Well, they thought I looked red like blood, so they named me after the god of war. Venus here looks so sparkly and bright from Earth, so they named it after Venus, the god of love and beauty. And Saturn is named after the God of agriculture and time.
STAR E. NIGHT: Amazing! Must be an honor to have such mythologically mighty names. And what about you, Earth? What god are you named after?
MERCURY: Ooh, that's a sensitive--
JUPITER: Yeah, Earth's kind of touchy about--
EARTH: No, it's-- it's fine, guys. It's fine. I've come to terms with it.
STAR E. NIGHT: Terms? With what?
EARTH: Well, I am not named after a god. My name comes from old English or Germanic words for ground, which is cool. I'm grounded. I've got ground all around. And besides, they may be named after gods, but I'm the only planet with walruses.
MERCURY: Ugh, there you go again, Earth, always rubbing it in.
JUPITER: It's so unfair. What I wouldn't give to have walruses on old Jupiter.
MERCURY: I know. They're so cool, right?
JUPITER: The coolest. I mean, tusks? Get out of here with that. I want them.
STAR E. NIGHT: Fascinating stuff. Well, that's all we have time for today. I'm Star E. Night, and this has been Pop Planet. Now, Earth, how much exactly do the walruses need to be oiled?
CASSIE: There are lots of things in space besides these eight planets.
MOLLY BLOOM: Like asteroids and comets.
CASSIE: Moons and stars.
MOLLY BLOOM: Some of these things have official names, but many don't.
CASSIE: And one celestial body recently went from being pretty much unknown to famous.
MOLLY BLOOM: That's right. And the science podcast Radiolab did an episode all about it. Here to tell us more is Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser. Hi, Latif.
LATIF NASSER: Hi.
CASSIE: Hi.
LATIF NASSER: Hello to both of you. Thanks for having me.
MOLLY BLOOM: Oh, my gosh, we're so glad you're here.
CASSIE: So the story starts when you were putting your son to bed one night. Can you tell us what happened?
LATIF NASSER: Sure, yeah, of course.
[INTRIGUING MUSIC]
So one night, I was putting my son to bed, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw this poster on the wall that we had put there, my wife and I. It's a poster of the solar system, right? And I saw out of the corner of my eye, this thing I had never seen before on that poster, which was that next to the little circle for Venus, there was a dot, which was supposed to be a moon. And I was like, huh, that's weird. Like, I didn't know Venus had a moon. I don't remember learning about that.
And so I looked it up. And on the NASA website, it said that Venus did not have a moon. And I was like, that's weird. And so the next morning I looked at that poster. I looked at it again. And not only did Venus have a moon on the poster, which I think shouldn't have been there, but then also that Venus moon had a name, and the name was Z-O-O-Z-V-E. How would you pronounce that, Cassie?
CASSIE: Zoozve?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, right? Zoozve, Zoozve, something like that. So I was like, that's weird. So I googled that. Nothing. No results in English for Zoozve.
CASSIE: Huh?
LATIF NASSER: And I was like, that's really weird, uh, kind of a mystery, right?
CASSIE: Yeah.
LATIF NASSER: So I kind of was like, where do I even go with this? So I have a friend. Her name is Liz Landau, and Liz works for NASA. And kind of her job would be like if reporters or other people had questions about space, they would go to her. So she's like an expert at fielding these kinds of questions. So I called her and she had no idea what I was talking about. Like, she's never gotten this question from anybody before.
CASSIE: That's weird.
LATIF NASSER: Really weird, right? I was like, oh, come on, somebody must have asked this. But she said, no, I don't know what you're talking about. So then I hung up with her and I was like, what-- what am I going to do? But then she texted me back and she was like, I figured it out. It's not Zoozve or Zoozve. It's 2002 VE. It's like a typo or something. I later found out the guy who was the designer of that poster-- his name was Alex Foster-- he mistook his own handwriting, and made it Z's and O's instead of twos and zeros.
Then I was like, oh, cool, so that really is a thing. But then that led me to the next question of, like, what even is this thing? How come NASA is saying Venus doesn't have a moon and this poster is saying that it does? And it turned out it's kind of a moon, but kind of not a moon. It's this whole new category of thing called a quasi-moon.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CASSIE: And what is a quasi-moon?
LATIF NASSER: So a quasi-moon is an asteroid that orbits the sun like a planet does.
CASSIE: Mm-hmm.
LATIF NASSER: But also, at the same time, it's orbiting a planet. So it's doing what a moon does and doing what a planet does at the same time. And because it's doing this three-way dance, it's really hard to predict and kind of strange.
CASSIE: That's really cool. So are there other quasi-moons out there?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, so this one was the first one they ever found. And then after that, they started discovering more of them and more of them and more of them. And guess what. They discovered some around Earth. We have quasi-moons too, not just Venus. And we have something like seven quasi-moons, maybe more, but they just keep discovering them.
CASSIE: Are all quasi-moons the same? Are there different types.
LATIF NASSER: Should I tell you some of the kinds? You want to hear some of the kinds of quasi-moons that they found out there?
CASSIE: Sure.
LATIF NASSER: So when you look at them from the perspective of the sun, they just look like a planet, like they're going around just sort of hula hooping, right? But if you look at them from the perspective of the closest planet, from Venus or from Earth, they just do weird dances around us that are-- like you would-- I never thought were even possible. So, for example, there are some that go around in a loop, right? There are some that, they don't do a full loop around the planet. It, like, goes around as if it's doing a loop, and then it'll, like, turn around and go back the other way, kind of like a horseshoe.
And then there's another kind, it just looks like it's staying still. It's just, like, hanging out, like, next to us and not moving at all, which is really weird. I think of it like it's Earth's Secret Service agent or something.
[CHUCKLING]
Yeah. And then there's another one, and this one's kind of my favorite, where it just, like, kind of almost, like, wiggles back and forth, making, like, a comma shape. And the name for this is my favorite. They're called tadpoles--
[CHUCKLING]
--which is kind of awesome. And, like, for me, I don't know. I'm like, whoa, I didn't know things could move that way in space before. I thought everything was just making sort of an oval or a circle. But there are these other things and they're making all these funny movements.
CASSIE: Yeah, I thought they only moved in circles, too.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah. Cool, right?
CASSIE: So what happened after you learned about this quasi-moon 2002 VE?
LATIF NASSER: I kind of-- to be honest with you, even though it's sort of just a space rock, I kind of fell in love with it. Like, I was like, oh, this thing is so interesting. And part of the thing I fell in love with actually was the name Zoozve. And I was like, oh, what if I could get them to actually name it Zoozve? Like, do you think they could actually name it Zoozve? So there's this group called the International Astronomical Union, and they are in charge of naming all the things in space. And so I put in a petition to actually officially rename 2002 VE Zoozve.
MOLLY BLOOM: Did it work? Did they accept the submission?
CASSIE: We'll find out in just a moment. Suspense, excitement. But first, it's time for-- (WHISPERING) Mystery sound.
MOLLY BLOOM: Hey, that's my line. But honestly, you sounded great doing it. Latif, would you like to play the mystery sound game with me and Cassie?
LATIF NASSER: Are you kidding? It would be my honor. I would love to do it.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, wonderful. Cassie, are you ready for the mystery sound?
CASSIE: I was born ready.
MOLLY BLOOM: Here it is.
[CLANKING AND GRATING]
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, who would like to guess first?
LATIF NASSER: Cassie, you go first.
CASSIE: I have a really good guess because I think I know what it is. It sounds like someone's, like, cutting, like, a carrot or, like, a piece of lettuce or they're, like, cutting cardboard.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, something being cut, either something edible or not edible, we're not sure.
CASSIE: Something edible or cardboard.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK. What do you think, Latif?
LATIF NASSER: I'm old enough to remember rotary telephones. I think it might be a rotary telephone being dialed.
MOLLY BLOOM: OK, can you describe what that is? What is a rotary telephone?
LATIF NASSER: There used to be a phone, and it had this, like, circle on the front of it, and the circle, had little circular holes all the way around, and each of those holes had numbers in them. And then to dial the number, you would have to put your finger on the-- whatever-- 7. And then you would, like, pull it around and then you'd let go. And then it would make that kind of noise, maybe somewhat similar noise to this. And then you would just have to one at a time dial each of those numbers to get your phone number.
CASSIE: I've seen those in old movies.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, that's the one.
MOLLY BLOOM: All right, do you guys want to hear it one more time?
LATIF NASSER: Sure.
CASSIE: Yes, please.
[CLANKING AND GRATING]
CASSIE: It's definitely cutting some type of vegetable.
MOLLY BLOOM: What do you think, Latif? You're sticking with the phone?
LATIF NASSER: No, I had a totally different idea. OK, there's those, like, wooden puzzles where you can, like, move around the tiles and then it makes a picture. You know what I'm talking about?
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm-hmm, yeah, it's like they're kind of, like, fixed in the puzzle, and you slide them around--
LATIF NASSER: That's right.
MOLLY BLOOM: --left and right, yeah.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what-- that's what it was in my imagination. I don't know.
MOLLY BLOOM: I love it. These are both excellent guesses. We're going to hear it again at the end of the show and the answer, so stick around.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
We are working on an episode all about animal leadership and we want to hear from you. What animal do you think would make an excellent leader? What qualities do you think are important for a leader to have? What could our human leaders learn from this animal? Cassie, what animal do you think would make a good president?
CASSIE: I think a whale would be a good president because I know whales are really smart, or maybe dolphins.
MOLLY BLOOM: Who do you think should be at the top of the ticket? The dolphin or the whale?
CASSIE: Dolphin, because I know they know how to use tools too. And they have, basically, their own language.
MOLLY BLOOM: Excellent. Latif, do you have any opinions on an animal that would make a good president?
LATIF NASSER: I agree with whales have a lot of gravitas. You know, they are big and they hold the room. And they will, like-- when whales talk, people listen, you know?
MOLLY BLOOM: Mm-hmm, they really do. Well, listeners, we want to hear from you. Record your answer and send it to us at brainson.org/contact. While you're there, send us your mystery sounds, drawings, and questions.
CASSIE: Like this one.
KIDS: How do birds fly?
MOLLY BLOOM: You can find answers to questions like these on the Moment of Um podcast. a short dose of facts and fun every weekday. Find Moment of Um and more at brainson.org.
CASSIE: So keep listening.
ANNOUNCER 2: Brains On Universe is a family of podcasts for kids and their adults. Since you're a fan of Brains On, we know you'll love the other shows in our universe. Come on, let's explore.
ROBOTIC VOICE: Entering Brains On Universe. Do you find my favorite podcasts, Brains On, Smash Boom Best, Forever Ago. [GASPS] Picking up signal Smash Boom Best, the smart, funny debate show.
SPEAKER 1: Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish.
SPEAKER 2: Skitter, skitter, skitter. Tail, tails, tail turn, tail turn. Skitter, skitter skitter, skitter, tail turn.
SPEAKER 3: Is that a rat noise I hear?
SPEAKER 2: That is a rat noise!
SPEAKER 1: A classic rat noise.
SPEAKER 3: Tail, tail, tail.
SPEAKER 2: Tail turn, Tail turn.
SPEAKER 1: Turn, turn, turn, turn, skip.
ROBOTIC VOICE: Zorp! Where'd did the signal go? Must find smash boom best now!
[BOOM]
WOMAN: Listen to Smash Boom Best wherever you get your podcasts.
VOICES: Brains! Brains On!
- You're listening to Brains On. I'm Cassie.
MOLLY: And I'm Molly. Today we're talking about how things in space get their names.
CASSIE: All the planets, except for Earth, were named after Roman gods.
MOLLY: But there are a ton of other things in space, like asteroids and stars, that don't have names, or they have names that could be a little more fun, like 2002VE, the quasi moon Latif discovered on the map in his son's bedroom.
So Latif, what happened? Did you get to rename 2002VE Zoozve?
LATIF NASSER: It worked. It shouldn't have worked, because they have so many rules about how you can name things. One of them is that, if something is a certain distance from Earth, you have to name it after a mythological character or something from mythology.
And this was not a mythological name, so I was like, oh, it's definitely not going to work. But then I think they thought the story was funny about the poster and everything. So then they were like, OK, usually, they have to be mythological names, but we'll make this one exception. So they actually officially named it Zoozve.
CASSIE: That's really cool.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, funny, right?
CASSIE: Yeah. What are the rules for naming an object in space?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, so if you want to name something in the solar system, the name has to be 16 characters or less, so it has to be a short-ish name. It has to be named after a mythological character or some name from mythology, but that could be fictional mythology. They've named stuff after The Lord of the Rings and stuff like that.
CASSIE: That's cool.
LATIF NASSER: People used to name stuff after their pet but they're not allowed to do that anymore. People got upset.
So you can't name things after yourself. You can't name things after politicians. You can't name things after a product or a company. So you can't be like, oh, this is the Twinkie asteroid or something.
So yeah, they have a lot of rules. And Zoozve didn't exactly fit the rules, but they made an exception.
CASSIE: That's really cool.
MOLLY: Are there similar rules for when scientists discover new species of animals?
LATIF NASSER: It's similar in that the discoverer usually has first dibs to name the thing. But it's like whoever discovers it gets to mostly name it whatever they want. But I think now there's more and more rules.
MOLLY: And is it the same in space, where the person who discovers it gets first dibs?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, the discoverer gets first dibs, but that only lasts for something like 10 years. And then after 10 years, they open it up to anybody who wants to name it. And that was the case for Zoozve.
The person who discovered it, he had actually discovered so many things in space. I was like, you discovered this cool thing called a quasi moon! And he's like, I discovered a what? He didn't even know. It was very funny. So the discoverers have first dibs on naming for about 10 years. And then after that, they open it up to anybody who wants to name it.
CASSIE: That's interesting.
MOLLY: So Latif, you successfully got 2002VE renamed to Zoozve. What next?
LATIF NASSER: So I and my team at Radiolab, we had so much fun getting Zoozve named that we were like, everybody should get a turn to do this because it's so fun.
And remember, Earth has a bunch of quasi moons, right? And a lot of those quasi moons of Earth don't have names. And so we approached this group, the International Astronomical Union-- in my head, I called them the Guardians of the Galaxy because I feel like that's really what they are.
So I approached this group, and I was like, hey, could we partner together, Radiolab and International Astronomical Union, to make a contest to let people, the people of Earth, name an Earth quasi moon. Bum ba da bum! And they said yes. So that's what we're doing.
CASSIE: That's really cool.
LATIF NASSER: Yeah! So we found a quasi moon, an = quasi moon, and we picked the weirdest one that we possibly could find whose orbit looks like it's-- I don't know-- really dizzy. And it's wandering around. You're like, what?
It's a rock. It's probably gray. It's shaped like a potato the size of the Eiffel Tower, basically, if you can imagine that, an Eiffel Tower potato. And it doesn't have a name.
And so we are taking name submissions from all over the world, and then we're going to boil those down to just a few options. And then we're going to have everybody vote on it.
CASSIE: I have a question.
LATIF NASSER: Sure.
CASSIE: Would a potato moon Eiffel Tower be considered a French fry?
LATIF NASSER: A French-- ooh, such a good-- such a good question. It would be inedible, but it would be-- it does feel very French, yeah, to me.
MOLLY: So we actually have a picture of the quasi moon's orbit on our website. This is how the quasi moon moves. Cassie, what do you think it looks like?
CASSIE: It looks like a pretzel.
MOLLY: Ooh, another delicious (LAUGHING) thing.
CASSIE: It also looks like-- if you've ever seen the X-ray of a human, it looks like the shoulder bone.
LATIF NASSER: Ooh, I like that. That's good.
MOLLY: It looks like a butterfly to me.
CASSIE: Oh, yeah.
LATIF NASSER: Or also a saddle.
CASSIE: Yeah.
MOLLY: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I can see that.
CASSIE: It also looks like a gas mask.
LATIF NASSER: Oh, whoa, I did not see that coming, interesting. We were doing this, and we had-- every member of our staff that was in the office that day. Everyone came in, and we were like, what does this look like? We did it one at a time. Everybody had a different answer.
MOLLY: That is incredible. So yeah, listeners, go check it out at our website, brainson.org. You can see this very cool orbit of the moon that we're looking for names for.
So Latif, when people can submit their names, do they have to follow those rules?
LATIF NASSER: The International Astronomical Union set? Yeah, they do have to follow the rules. So it does have to be a mythological name, and it can be any culture anywhere all over the world.
In my imagination, it's like a trickster. Maybe there's some trickster from some cultures, mythology. But if you can look at that orbit and see some kind of mythological resonance with something else out there, yeah, please, submit a name.
MOLLY: Cassie, do any ideas come to mind about what this quasi moon should be called?
CASSIE: Well, I said it looked like shoulder bones, so I was thinking maybe Atlas because he carries the heavens on his shoulders. But there's already something in space called Atlas.
LATIF NASSER: Right, right, that makes sense. But that was a good idea. I like the shoulder-to-Atlas connection.
MOLLY: Yeah, that is really cool. Well, listeners, if you would like to suggest a name, head to radiolab.org/moon to learn more and submit your idea. They're accepting submissions until the end of September, so there's still plenty of time.
CASSIE: And remember, you'll need an adult to help you prepare your submission.
MOLLY: Latif, are there any other words of wisdom, advice, to share since you're someone who has successfully named an object?
LATIF NASSER: My best advice would be to think about, is there a special connection between that name and the thing? Is there something about the thing that reminds you of the name or something about the name that reminds you of the thing? But try to focus on that connection right there.
MOLLY: Excellent advice. And Latif, do you think it's important to name things in space? Does it help people feel more connected?
LATIF NASSER: Oh, yeah. I think it's almost like we all live in a house together, and for whatever reason-- maybe we're grounded or something. We can't leave the house. But we can look out of the window and see all the interesting things that are happening in our neighborhood.
And so you want to be able to talk about it. And to do that, you need to name things. But then also, it's like, this is our neighborhood. It's an extension of our home. Even though we can't go there and kick around pebbles and stuff, this is still our neighborhood.
And I think there's something really special and important about that, for us all to know where we live and what's around us. I don't know. To me at least, that feels very basic.
MOLLY: Latif, thanks so much for talking with us. We cannot wait to submit our ideas. But before you go, are you ready to go back to the mystery sound?
CASSIE: Yes.
LATIF NASSER: Oh, yeah!
MOLLY: All right, here it is again.
[CUTTING]
[GRATING]
All right, new thoughts.
CASSIE: I don't have any new thoughts. I'm 100% sure it's cutting some sort of vegetable on a cutting board.
MOLLY: OK, great. What about you, Latif? What do you think?
LATIF NASSER: Yeah, no new thoughts. It's either a rotary telephone or a wooden puzzle or cutting or something completely different than all of those.
CASSIE: It could be anything.
MOLLY: It really could. Maybe it's Zoozve saying Hi. We don't know. All right, here is the answer.
JUNE: Hi, my name is June, and I'm from Brooklyn, New York City. The sound you just heard was the sound of me hand cranking a pencil in a pencil sharpener.
[GASPING]
LATIF NASSER: Of course.
MOLLY: A pencil sharpener?
CASSIE: I was so sure it was cutting vegetables. It sounded just like it!
MOLLY: Well, wood of a pencil is from a plant. So in a way, it's being shaved, which is close to cutting.
LATIF NASSER: That's true.
CASSIE: So was I right, technically?
MOLLY: I'm giving you partial credit.
CASSIE: Yay!
LATIF NASSER: Can we hear it one more time? Yeah, absolutely.
[PENCIL SHARPENING]
LATIF NASSER: Oh!
MOLLY: So this is like one of those sharpeners in the classroom, the big ones.
CASSIE: Yeah, I hear it now because, at my house, we have one that's like that.
LATIF NASSER: And also, the cranking feels like the dialing of the phone.
MOLLY: Yes, exactly. It's around movement. So you were close. I'm also giving you partial credit.
LATIF NASSER: Oof, I'll take it.
MOLLY: Excellent work, both of you. That was a tricky one.
LATIF NASSER: It was like if you combine our two guesses, it's like we got it.
MOLLY: Exactly. Teamwork. Well, Latif, thank you again for joining us. It's a true pleasure.
CASSIE: Yeah, thanks. Bye.
LATIF NASSER: Bye.
MOLLY: Bye.
ROBOTIC VOICE: Brains, brains, Brains On.
MOLLY: That is such a cool story, and now I really want to submit a quasi moon name too at radiolab.org/moon. But Cassie, why do you think it's cool to name things in space?
CASSIE: I think it's cool because, if one day someone is stargazing, and they look up in the sky, and they're like, oh, that's so and so, it'd probably be cool knowing that you named something in space and everybody's going to be using that name for that one particular object. And it's like you're in space when you're not really in space, if that makes sense.
MOLLY: Yeah, totally. That does make sense. Well, Cassie, speaking of naming things, have you ever noticed how Earth's moon is just called Moon?
CASSIE: Yeah, other moons in our solar system have unique names like Titan, Callisto, and Mimas.
MOLLY: But ours is just Moon with a capital M. It's a fine name, very accurate. But what if it had another name? We asked all of you what you would name our moon if it were up to you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
OWEN: My name is Owen. I live in Santa Clara, California, and my new name for the moon is Seeker.
SUBJECT 1: I think the moon should be called Saturn Moon because Saturn is my favorite planet.
MARTHA LUCIA: Hi, my name is Martha Lucia. I am seven years old and from San Leandro, California. I would name the moon Shine Super Bright because the moon shines bright.
SUBJECT 2: Bright Moon of History.
VIOLET: Hey, my name is Violet from Knoxville, Tennessee. And what I would rename the moon is Artemis because, one, she's my favorite goddess, and, two, she's the goddess of the moon.
HOLLAND: Hi, my name is Holland from Arizona. I think it should be Mr. Crater because the moon has craters.
VERA: My name is Vera, and my name for our moon would be Athena after the Greek goddess of war and wisdom.
MARSHALL: Hi, my name is Marshall, and I think the moon should be called Zib Zab because it is a funny name.
MONA: Hi, I'm Mona from Toronto, Canada, and I think the moon should be called Earth Friend because it's beside the Earth. But it's not the Earth.
MOLLY: Thanks to all of you for sending in those excellent names for our pal the Moon.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CASSIE: Our planets were named after Roman gods.
MOLLY: Except Earth. The word Earth comes from the Germanic word for ground.
CASSIE: But there are lots of other things in space that need names.
MOLLY: Our friend Latif Nasser from Radiolab renamed the quasi moon 2002VE Zoozve.
CASSIE: And now you have a chance to rename a quasi moon too.
MOLLY: Head to radiolab.org/moon to learn how you can submit your idea.
CASSIE: And remember, you have until September 30, 2024 at midnight to do it.
MOLLY: So get brainstorming, and aim for the stars.
CASSIE: This episode was written by--
SANDEN TOTTEN: Sanden Totten.
CASSIE: --and
ROSSIE DUPONT: Rosie DuPont.
CASSIE: --and edited by--
SHALA FARZAN: Shahla Farzan.
CASSIE: Fact checking is by--
JESS MILLER: Jess Miller.
MOLLY: We had engineering help from Gary O'Keefe and Jess Berg with sound design by--
RACHEL BREES: Rachel Brees.
MOLLY: --original theme music by--
MARC SANCHEZ: Marc Sanchez.
CASSIE: We had production help from the rest of the Brains On Universe team.
MOLLY: Molly Bloom, Anna Goldfield, Nico Gonzalez Whistler, Ruby Guthrie,
TEAM: Lauren Humpert, Joshua Ray, Marc Sanchez, Charlotte Traver, Anna Weggel, and Aron Woldeslassie.
MOLLY: Beth Perlman is our executive producer. And the executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Special thanks to Latif Nasser, Jessica Santoro, and Richard Sanfilippo.
CASSIE: Brains On is a nonprofit Public Radio program.
MOLLY: There are lots of ways to support the show. Subscribe to Brains On Universe on YouTube, where you can watch animated versions of some of your favorite episodes, or head to brainson.org.
CASSIE: While you're there, you can send us mystery sounds, drawings, and questions.
MOLLY: Now it's time for the Brains Honor Roll. These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings, and high fives. Waylon from Austin, Texas; Margo from Hilton Head, South Carolina; Benny from Beacon, New York; Javier from Lewisville, Texas; Kylee and Cairo from League City, Texas.
Eli from Havertown, Pennsylvania; Wyatt and Parker from Phoenix, Arizona; Norah from Brooklyn, New York; Rosalind and Sylvie from Duluth, Minnesota; Elodie from Halifax, Nova Scotia; Elon From Nampa, Idaho; Afton from Charlotte, North Carolina; Toby from St. Paul, Minnesota; Dean from Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Mia from Taipei, Taiwan; Liam from Lafayette, Colarado; Gracie and Philip from Friendswood, Texas; Jessi from San Jose, California; Asher from Edmonds, Washington; Mia from Cortland Manor, New York; Eva from Evanston, Illinois; Grace and Eleanor from Winchester, Virgina; Margo from St. Albert, Alberta, Ryan from Seattle, Owen from American Fork.
Aidan from Austin, Texas; Chloe from Bradford, UK; Sigrid from Graettinger, Iowa; Clear from Cave Creek, Arizona; Ezra from Pleasanton, Kansas; Stella from Austin, Texas; Addy from Washington, DC; Maximus from Toronto; Cora-Jane from Petaluma, California; Tala from Richmond, California; Lee and Marc from Maryland.
Greyson from Edmonton; Thomas from Long Beach, California; Rigby from Westland, Oregon; Eberle from Portland, Oregon, Ellia from St. Paul, Minnesota; Adelaide from Killeen, Texas, Amelia from Kensington, Maryland; Griffin from Sebastian, Florida.
Hailey and Nora from Stoughton, Wisconsin; Emma from Woodbridge, Virginia; Rosie from Newburgh, Indiana; Arkin from Sooke, British Columbia; Atlas from Portland, Oregon; Kinley and River from St. Augustine, Florida; Elia from Fort Worth, Texas; Azrael and Issa from Cathedral City, California; Simon from Jefferson, Maine.
Charlotte from Oklahoma; Bruno from Alameda, California; Cora from Chicago; and Helix and Remy from Los Angeles.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ROBOTIC VOICE: (SINGING) Brains on all our lives
MOLLY: We'll be back in two weeks with an episode about why some people need glasses.
CASSIE: Thanks for listening.
Transcription services provided by 3Play Media.
