By Bradford Hornsby April 6, 2015 2:59 PM

(NASA/JHU APL/SwRI/Steve Gribben)

(CBS SF) NASA has partnered with the International Astronomical Union to allow the public to nominate names for soon-to-be-discovered features on Pluto and its orbiting satellites.

NASAs New Horizons spacecraft will make the first-ever close flyby of Pluto and its satellites in July, collecting thousands of photographs which should reveal an in-depth look at the features on the bodies in the Pluto system.

These features will be named by the public after a vetting by NASAs New Horizons team and the IAU. Dont get too excited and think a feature on Pluto will soon be named after you, your pet hamster, or Seymour Buttz as there is a very strict set of rules for nomenclature.

All nominated names must related to mythology and the literature and history of exploration. Nominations also can not be the name of a living person. Below are the basic rules for names from IAU.

Pluto: Names for the Underworld from the worlds mythologies, Gods, goddesses, and dwarfs associated with the Underworld. Heroes and other explorers of the Underworld. Writers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. Scientists and engineers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

Charon: Destinations and milestones of fictional space and other exploration. Fictional and mythological vessels of space and other exploration. Fictional and mythological voyagers, travelers and explorers.

Styx: River gods.

Nix: Deities of the night.

Originally posted here:

NASA Allowing Public To Name Features On Dwarf Planet Pluto