In Starlog Issue #13 from May 1978, Terran Travel Agent Jonathan Eberhart announces an exciting new travel destination. Dubbed "Object Kowal" after astronomer Charles Kowal, this recently spotted spacial body could be a planet or a comet. Alternatively, it could also be an asteroid, or even a moon that escaped its planet's orbit.
In case the scientific community decided it was a planet, Charles Kowal suggested the name Chiron. Some in the popular press welcomed this new addition to our solar system with open arms. "Welcome tenth planet Chiron," their headlines proclaimed.
Much has changed since 1978. Pluto, the only other spacial body rotating our sun that shares a blue atmosphere with Earth, no longer allures as a possible travel destination, since it has been striped of its status a planet. Yet Object Kowal, or Chiron, still intrigues.
As it orbits our sun, and exhibits the characteristics of a comet, the scientific community recognizes Chiron as both a minor planet and a comet. As a minor planet (or possibly, like Pluto, a dwarf planet), it is known as 2060 Chiron. As a comet, it is called 95P/Chiron.
If the possibility of traveling to a place that is both a planet and a comet doesn't excite you, how about taking a tour of Jupiter's moons instead? In the same May 1978 Starlog article, Terran Travel Agent Jonathan Eberhart informs us that astronomer Charles Kowal has recently discovered Jupiter's thirteen moon, as well as another spacial body that might someday be confirmed as the planet's fourteenth moon. These days, in the shiny new year 2021, the scientific community recognizes not just fourteen Jovian moons, but seventy-nine.
I repeat: Jupiter has a whopping seventy-nine moons! Jupiter has a staggering seventy-nine moons! Jupiter has a mind-blowing seventy-nine moons!
The pandemic may currently be limiting Terran travel destinations. Yet I cannot help be excited by the possibilities. Imagine visiting a place that is both a minor planet and a comet! Imagine exploring all of Jupiter's seventy-nine moons!
When the pandemic winds down, and the interplanetary cruise industry ramps up, I know which tour I want to book. How about you?
Dragon Dave
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