Why not Luna? Or Tranquility? Or….?

There are some names for our moon that would be tempting to pursue. So why am I promoting the name “Harmony”? My driving force is the thought that, at this moment in time, the inhabitants of the Earth need harmony more than ever. We need to find ways to live in harmony with each other, and with our natural world. I would hope that the naming of the moon Harmony would be deeply inspirational to all of humankind.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful for all nations to say “Harmony is shining over us all”?

Campaign Purpose

In my campaign to build consensus for naming Earth’s moon “Harmony,” I am setting out to achieve two goals:

1. To persuade the voting members of the International Astronomical Union to give a name to our moon (the IAU is the entity empowered to issue names to space objects… I imagine I’ll face strong resistance here); and
2. To convince the IAU members to adopt and designate the name “Harmony” for our moon (once passed the hurdle of the first step, I think that member factions will likely rush to have their own unique naming options adopted)

Why Not “Luna”? Or “Tranquility”?

Likely the strongest candidate for a moon name would be “Luna.” Made popular in movies and literature, this name would already be internationally recognized. But I have a problem with Luna, that being the use of the term “lunatic” to describe a mentally unstable person, made so by the influence of the moon’s gravity upon the crazy person. That not only promotes a stigma but also is a bit of a negative, isn’t it?

Another tempting name would be “Peace,” or the latin version “Pax.” However, I think that peace does not nearly convey the commitment and effort required to build a planet that is harmonious.

Google Definition describes peace as:

1. freedom from disturbance
2. a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended

So, while “Peace” is positive and desirable, it does suggest that all sides have merely suspended hostilities.

To live with one another in harmony requires greater purposefulness and intentionality, a valuing of others beyond mere tolerance.

Another appealing option is “Tranquility,” taken from the name of the first Apollo landing zone which was codenamed Mare Tranquillitatis, which translated from Latin means “Sea of Tranquility.” Again, an appealing term but hardly inspirational, and a bit difficult to spell. It also may not be common to every language on Earth.

Definitions of Harmony

Google Definitions describes harmony as:

1. the quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole
2. amity, amicability, friendship, fellowship, comradeship, solidarity, cooperation, understanding, consensus, unity, sympathy, rapport, goodwill,

Don’t those qualities sound appealing?

How You Can Help

I’m asking for your support, in any (maybe all) of the following ways:

• Follow my efforts on this blog, which I’ll use for longer messaging
• Follow the campaign on Instagram, with the handle @NameOurMoonHarmony
• Add your own thoughts and images to Instagram, with the hashtag #ImForHarmony
• If I meet resistance with my application to the International Astronomical Union, I’ll call for an email campaign for followers to communicate their support to the right person at the right time.

Thanks for being a Harmonizer!