Now, the NRAO wants to open up the choice to the public's creativity.

BBC: Very Large Array telescope in public call for new name

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) that runs the facility has for a decade been fitting it with state-of-the-art digital electronics, a new central computer, and high-speed transmission lines to carry the data that the 25m, 200-tonne dishes gather.

BBC: Very Large Array telescope in public call for new name

"Though the giant dish antennas, the unique machines that move them across the desert, and the buildings on New Mexico's Plains of San Agustin may appear much the same, the VLA truly has become a new and different facility, " said NRAO director Fred Lo.

BBC: Very Large Array telescope in public call for new name