Cthulhu and Pluto plus Mordor and Charon

Greer updated his readers on his latest writing project in last night's The Cimmerian Hypothesis, Part One: Civilization and Barbarism.

I’ve just completed the first draft of a 70,000-word novel in eight weeks. Those of my readers and correspondents who’ve been wondering why I’ve been slower than usual to respond to them now know the reason. The working title is Moon Path to Innsmouth; it deals, in the sidelong way for which fiction is so well suited, with quite a number of the issues discussed on this blog; I’m pleased to say that I’ve lined up a publisher, and so in due time the novel will be available to delight the rugose hearts of the Great Old Ones and their eldritch minions everywhere.

I couldn't resist passing along some information along with a link to yesterday's entry.

Since you appear to be dabbling in the Cthulhu Mythos, you might find it amusing to learn that the features on Pluto are being informally named after underworld beings, including Cthulhu.   Let's see if they survive the vetting of the International Astronomical Union, which demoted Pluto to the status of dwarf planet a decade ago .  I hope they are better remembered than the movement added to Holst's "The Planets" earlier this century for Pluto.  Holst himself couldn't be bothered during the last years of his life, as Pluto had no astrological significance then.

The coincidence had the appropriate effect on Greer.

Pinku-sensei, you know, that's almost eerie. It only occurred to me after I finished the draft of Moon Path to Innsmouth that I wrote it just as the New Horizons space probe approached the planet Lovecraft called Yuggoth, which has a significant role in his mythos. I wonder what the Mi-Go think of the bright little decoration we've just put in their sky... ;-)

Good thing the Mi-Go are purely fictional.

Follow over the jump for more from io9 on the informal names of Pluto and Charon.

Pluto isn't alone in getting cool names for its features.  Charon got one, too.

Mordor, the dark polar area, is the first named location on Charon. Mordor is a location in the fantasy series The Lord of the Rings, a place significant for its trio of encompassing mountain ranges that both protected the region from invasion and kept those within from escaping, and for housing the One-Ring-destroying volcano Orodruin. I’m not quite sure what that makes the theme from the three options — places you don’t want to explore?

Between Balrog on Pluto and Mordor on Charon, I’m wondering who the massive Lord of the Rings fan is on the Geology and Geophysics science team!

As for the "Heart of Pluto," it has a name, too.

The now-iconic heart of Pluto has an official informal name, Tombaugh Regio after Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto. Admittedly, its new name only matches the theme in that its namesake is dead.

I'm not going to complain.  Tombaugh deserves the honor.