UGA student wins contest to name one of Earth's quasi-moons

A shot of the earth and the moon from the Galileo spacecraft. (NASA)
ATHENS, Ga. - A little bit of outer space has a new name thanks to the creativity of one University of Georgia student.
UGA sophomore Clay Chilcutt won a contest to help name one of Earth's quasi-moons.
The backstory:
In May 2024, the radio show Radiolab and the International Astronomical Union collaborated on a contest to name the celestial body, previously known by the complicated title of (164207) 2004 GU9.
UGA astronomy professor Hina Shaikh decided to use the competition in one of her courses while discussing small solar system objects.
Nearly 3,000 people from over 90 countries submitted entries for the contest. After a judging period that included a panel of experts like actor Penn Badgley, Bill Nye, and astrophysicist Dr. Moiya McTier, the names were narrowed down to seven.
Two options suggested by Shaikh's class- Chilcutt's proposal of "Cardea" and freshman Samuel Lashley's entry of "Tarriaksuk" ended up as finalists.
In December, more than 10,000 people cast votes and picked Cardea as the quasi-moon's new name.
What they're saying:
In his entry, the sophomore from Douglasville said that Cardea was the Roman goddess of doorways and transitions - a fitting name for a quasi-moon that's "forever straddling the space between Earth and the cosmos."
"Being a history buff who likes empires, especially Roman, I decided to do some research on Greco-Roman mythology and after reading several names, I landed on Cardea," Chilcutt told UGA. "I chose her not only for her name but what she represents, perfect for a celestial object such as the quasi-moon. Learning about astronomy and astrophysics is a hobby of mine and the class was very interesting, and my professor was very knowledgeable and engaging. I learned about quasi-moons in class, and this project was extra credit, but I didn’t participate just for extra credit; I did all the research for it because I personally found it interesting. It is truly an honor to have a contribution to science and to be a part of something of some historical significance."

UGA student Clay Chilcutt (UGA)
"I am excited about the outcome and happy for Clay," Shaikh said. I was hoping to get my students engaged and interested in Astronomy with a little extra credit and was not expecting that anymore could come of it. Of course, once two of my students' name suggestions were in the final vote, I was rooting for one of them to win, and Clay and 'Cardea' got it."
Big picture view:
According to the International Astronomical Union, quasi-moons are asteroids that orbit the Sun in a similar way to that of a planet.
Because of how they move, it appears to observers that these pieces of space rock are orbiting planets like our moon does.
There are many of these celestial bodies in the sky, but technology has recently advanced to the point where astronomers can spot them more frequently.
You can learn more about the contest here.
The Source: Information for this story was taken from a story by the University of Georgia as well as reports from Radiolab and the International Astronomical Union.