Asking the Public to Name Probe to Uranus May Have Been a Mistake

It must've been obvious to them.

It almost feels like a setup for a punch line, considering the public's interest in potty humor and butt-related puns.

It went mildly viral.

One user suggested that Astroglide should sponsor space exploration because of a popular brand of personal lubricant.

Another user offered "operation butt plug."

"You're asking the internet to name a probe going to a new planet?" one angry person asked.

There are serious ramifications of this type of humor.

"I do worry that it will make it difficult to get a mission to study this planet because I think that NASA would be sensitive to these headlines," said prominent Space Science Institute and Planetary Society astronomer.

She said that it was impossible to separate the whole aliens probing humans thing from the atmospheric probes.

Thankfully, many of the responses included more sensible names that we could see NASA using.

The mission should be named after William Herschel, who discovered the body and its moons in the 1700s.

Many users suggested that the mission be named after one of the poet's plays.

It could be named after the god who fought ice giants or the god who fought the Greek god.

It's difficult to say whether a mission to Uranus will ever happen. A NASA-affiliated panel of experts recommended to visit the planet, but the space agency has yet to announce any plans to go.

There are a lot of reasons to come. Neptune's moons are thought to hold a lot of liquid water.

Clues about its history could be offered by a mission, such as why it has two sets of rings or why it tipped on its side.

It's all fun and games, but public support for a publicly funded mission to a distant planet is the key to generating enough interest.

The butt jokes might be a good thing.

"I think it's good to get engagement in my work in any way," the University of California astronomy PhD candidate said.

Is the jokes tiring and repetitive? "Yes, absolutely," he said. I don't think I get frustrated at all. It begins a discussion.

The internet was asked to name a probe This is how that went down.

Here's what scientists think about your jokes.