Two recently discovered geological elements are being named after Russia's capital city and a pioneering Russian scientist.
The Russian-derived names are among four recommended on June 8 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, which determines the names of elements added to the periodic table.
The names will become official after a five-month public review period.
The union in December verified the discovery of the four new elements, all laboratory-made synthetics, and they now complete the seventh row of the periodic table, a fundamental tool of chemistry students and professionals.
Moscovium, the 115th element with the symbol Mc, was discovered by a team from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, working jointly with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
Another element that same team discovered is being named Tennessine, with the symbol Ts.
The 118th element, oganesson, symbol Og, is being named in honor of Russian physicist Yury Oganessian., who pioneered the discovery of superheavy elements.
The fourth newly named element, nihonium, symbol Nh, was discovered in Japan. Nihon is one way to say the country's name in Japanese.