It's too little too late to name a moon of Pluto after Spock's destroyed homeworld, but the controversy surrounding how future generations of celestial bodies has changed the way a century-old organization works.

The International Astronomical Union announced it was opening up the process to name planetary bodies and other things found in the sky to the public -- as long as a few rules are followed.

"The IAU does not consider itself as having a monopoly on the naming of celestial objects," the group said in a statement. "Anyone can, in theory, adopt names the way they choose. However, given the publicity and emotional investment associated with these discoveries, worldwide recognition is important, and the IAU offers its unique experience for the benefit of a successful public naming process," which must remain "distinct" from "scientific designation issues."

That would mean that even if the IAU had opened naming up to the public before christening Pluto's moons, "Vulcan" would still not work for a name. That's because the term "vulcan" is already used to describe volcanoes and most everything associated with them. By calling a planet Vulcan it could create confusion in the scientific community already familiar with using the term vulcan for other areas of science.

Yet, that doesn't mean other potential names, like say "Mudd," might not be ignored.

Under the new guidelines, when it comes time to name a celestial body, the IAU will take suggestions from the public through its email address [email protected]. Any group wanting to start a naming campaign would want to contact the IAU ahead of time, and invite the astronomy organization to be a part of it. Once the campaign is over, the name idea would have to be submitted as part of an overall proposal, and guarantee a wide international participation.

Names that cannot be used, besides those that would be confusing with other areas of science, include not being longer than 16 characters, stay one word, be pronounceable in as many languages as possible, not be offensive in any language or culture, not be the name of someone's pet (sorry, Spot!) and not be commercial.

Also, they cannot be named after military or political leaders, so Khan is out as well.

"We have been looking at this so the public can be involved, provided the naming process fulfills some basic criteria," Lars Lindberg Christensen, spokesman for the IAU, told The Telegraph. "We value very much the public's opinion and thoughts about these objects. The more the merrier for they are proposing good names."

So what campaign will William Shatner lead next? There must be a moon out there somewhere ready to be called Getalife.