Yeah, but it’s not the god of the forge’s fault that the hypothetical planet didn’t exist. Fit him in where you can. Vulcan (the god) is always getting overlooked.
The only problem I have is that now that one of Pluto’s tiny moons has been named Vulcan, we can’t use the name for something better - like the first exoplanet we can photograph well.
And the International Astronomical Union (IAU) tells Trekkers to sit down and shut up. The two new moons are officially named Kerberos and Styx.
No Vulcan in spite of the SETI contest.
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/07/02/plutos-newly-discovered-moons-get-official-names/
So Leonard Nimoy doesn’t deserve the honor, but Dennis DeYoung does?
You’d think Star Trek would have a much bigger following in the astronomy community than Styx. 
At least they’re thematically correct. That was the big thing that bothered me about Vulcan as a name for a Plutonian moon. Vulcan doesn’t really have anything to do with Pluto, other than both being members of the Roman pantheon.
You really don’t want to waste a name like Vulcan on a dinky little satellite of something that isn’t even a planet.
Keep your pantheon!
I’m waiting for them to start using names from JRRT’s Legendarium. Comet Finduilas straying too close to the star Turin, getting burnt and moving on forever into the outer dark! Moons Ossë and Uinen orbiting Ulmo.
I was really pulling for Newton and Toot.
Kerberos? What kind of an abomination is Kerberos? Leave Cerberus alone. This is as bad as in Goodbye Mr. Chips when they wanted him to pronounce it Kickero.
It’s a perfectly good authentication protocol. Why shouldn’t they name the moons after an authentication protocol and a hair band?
Features on Titan are named after JRRT people / places
http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/SearchResults?target=TITAN&featureType=Collis,%20colles
http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/SearchResults?target=TITAN&featureType=Mons,%20montes
Brian
Marley23:
I think that proves that astronomers have too much time on their hands.
According to Space.com, the surface features of Pluto might be named after the famous characters from Star Trek. CITE So we may well see craters named Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty (or Scott?), Uhura, Chekov, Sulu and (one supposes) Picard, Riker, and so on.
Didn’t know that - cool!
hmmm, a body so cold and remote…we could perhaps name it Elise, in honor of my ex-wife.
nyuk nyuk
Fantastic!! In so many senses of the word. 
