Last April, you might recall, I announced a competition. It was not my competition, but one organised by ESA, the European Space Agency, to find names for Cluster II, a constellation of four satellites destined to fly in close tetrahedral (or triangular-based pyramid) formation to study what has come to be called "space weather".
The Cluster II spacecraft are the successors of Cluster I, the four satellites destroyed when the ill-fated Ariane-5 rocket exploded at its maiden launch in 1996. ESA's motto has been "Try again, but be more careful!" This time Cluster has been split.
The first pair will be launched at around 2 p.m. today, Irish time, at Baikonur in Kazakhstan, just north of the Caspian Sea; the other two will join the team on August 9th.
When in orbit the four satellites will focus on the solar wind, a stream of electrically-charged particles continually surging towards us from the sun. The solar wind is potentially dangerous to life on Earth, but fortunately the planet's magnetic field creates a giant protective bubble which shields us from its worst effects.
Cluster II will add greatly to our knowledge of exactly how it does it, particularly since identical instruments observing simultaneously from all four satellites will provide a unique three-dimensional view of the everchanging cosmic elements.
The competition to suggest permanent names for the spacecraft has attracted 5,000 entries from all over Europe. So far, a "national best", so to speak, has been selected; the most imaginative suggestion, in the judges' view, to be submitted from each country.
The winning Danish entry, for example, is Aquilnius, Australis, Orientalis and Occidentalis, or North, South, East and West. The French winner chose a musical theme, Adagio, Allegro, Largo and Vivace, as indeed did his counterpart from Sweden with Flute, Violin, Cello and Piano. Literature won out in Germany with Tristan, Isolde, Romeo and Juliet, while the British winner favoured dance: Tango, Rumba, Salsa and Samba.
The astronomical significance of the winning Finnish entry, Ukko, Ilmatar, Kokko and Louhi, will be obvious to all.
The best of the Irish bunch came from Coolock, Dublin, and was submitted by Grainne Duncan. Her imaginative suggestion for the names of the four satellites of Cluster II was Imbolc, Beltaine, Lughnasa and Samhain, the four festivals of ancient Ireland associated with the seasons.
The overall winner of the competition will be chosen today as part of the celebrations to mark the successful launch of the first pair of satellites. Thereafter all four spacecraft will be known officially by their newly given names. Wouldn't it be nice if they were Irish? Good luck, Grainne!