When purchasing an airline ticket, have you ever made the mistake of choosing a city of the same name in a different state? Such as choosing Portland, Maine rather than Portland, Oregon? They are on completely opposite sides of the country, so it’s a blunder you would deeply regret.

But what if your mistake landed you in outer space? If space travel ever becomes readily available, we’ll have to ensure we don’t make that same mistake with Hawaii.

There is, of course, the lush big island of Hawaii that we know and love. Then there is the minor planet named after Hawaii, which is similar to a big rock — definitely not a tropical paradise. (Its formal name is ‘48575 Hawaii’.)

A minor planet is an astronomical object that orbits the sun. It is larger than a meteorite but smaller than the eight major planets. Minor planets include asteroids, dwarf planets, and distant objects. As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, they receive a number from the Minor Planet Center, and the discoverer can submit a planet name. If you’d like to see a list of all the minor planets named after places, click here.

And as you’re planning your space travel itinerary, here’s a list of minor planets named for various places in the state of Hawaii, including volcanoes:

• 48575 Hawaii (Big Island of Hawaii)
• 284891 Kona (Kona District, Hawaii)
• 342431 Hilo (Hilo, Hawaii)
• 34901 Mauna Loa (a volcano that forms the largest part of the Big Island of Hawaii)
• 171183 Haleakala (a volcano on the island of Maui)
• 188534 Mauna Kea (a volcano on the island of Hawaii)

I stumbled upon these minor planets during my writing research, which prompted a story that I’m currently refining and polishing to submit for traditional publication as a picture book.

In this story the main character, Kai, lives in Hawaii, and the wrong package is delivered to his home. Kai attempts to return it to the galactic delivery driver, but the contents are quite slippery (and there are so many snapping teeth!). After numerous mishaps, they end up in outer space, attempting to get the dangerous package (pssst… it’s a shark) delivered to its intended destination on the minor planet, Hawaii. But there’s no water there. In the end, they discover a solution, one with an ocean of water and the ability to track that slippery shark!

While I enjoy visiting the Hawaiian islands, I have no desire to visit a minor planet that lacks oxygen and pineapples. So, unfortunately, the minor planet of Hawaii is not on my travel itinerary. (But if you ever trek your way there, please take lots of pictures and share them with me.)