How the Planets in Our Solar System Got Their Names

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Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 The planets in our solar system are no less than a family! They have been named after Greek and Roman deities. This post talks about how these nine astronomical entities got their names.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Organized by IAU and Zooniverse, it is the first opportunity for the public to name a list of 20 most popular ExoWorlds (exoplanets). Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. NameExoWorlds Contest

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is the internationally recognized authority that is responsible for naming all celestial bodies in this universe.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Established in the year 1919, the IAU works to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects, through international cooperation.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 A planet , according to IAU, is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun...

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. ...(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces, so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape (c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 How the Planets Got their Names Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were named thousands of year ago. the rest were not discovered until a few hundred years back.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 The IAU recognises and thus carries forward the tradition of naming the planets after Roman and Greek deities.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) is the body that finalizes and assigns names to any newly discovered celestial body or the features on their surface.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 As kids, we must have found these nine names difficult to remember. It is only with some trick that we succeeded in memorizing them; of course, better if they are memorized in the correct order.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 All planets except Earth are named similarly. A common thread is their association to Greek or Roman mythology. Pluto is not considered a planet now, but since it was earlier, and has some history to its name, it is included here.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Mercury We cannot forget this little celestial body which is closest to the Sun. The Romans named this planet 'Mercurius', because its movement in the sky appears very quick and swift.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 It is also identified as the Messenger of the Gods (or of Jupiter). Known as 'Hermes' in Greek mythology, it refers to the god of commerce, theft, cunning, and invention.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Venus If you have ever gone out for star gazing, this is one of the first identifiable objects in sky. Venus is beautiful, prominent, and the brightest amongst all.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 The term 'Venus' represents the Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty. Also, it is known as the counterpart of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Interesting fact: Until it was evident that both are the same object, this planet was called 'Lucifer' as a morning star, and known by the name 'Venus' as an evening star.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Earth We don't make a guess here! This is no Roman goddess representing life, or any other emotion. In fact, as you might have noticed, many languages use similar terms for denoting Earth.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 The term stems from the Indo-European base of 'er', which formed the German noun 'ertho'. In German language, the Earth is known as 'Erde', in Dutch 'Aarde', in Scandinavian 'Jord', and in English it is 'Earth'.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Mars The red color of this planet is the reason behind its name. The Romans named it their God of War due to its blood-like appearance. He was also the father of Romulus and Remus.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Ares is his Greek counterpart. In other civilizations too, its peculiar red color has created its names; 'Her Desher' is the name for Mars in Egypt, which means the 'the red one'.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Jupiter Jupiter symbolizes the King of Gods for the ancient Roman culture. Being the largest of all the planets in our solar system, 'Jupiter' seemed to be the perfect nomenclature for this massive gas giant.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 This planet is called 'Zeus' by the Greeks. With the symbols of a lightening bolt and an eagle, Jupiter was the most significant deity for these civilizations.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Saturn Saturn is Roman God of Agriculture and Vegetation. The planet, with its concentric rings of ice particles, has a Roman name interpreted to be the Greek Kronos (or Cronus). As per Roman mythology, Saturn is father of Zeus (Jupiter), Neptune and Pluto.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Uranus Uranus was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel, who had earlier named the planet 'Georgian Sidus' after George III.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Later that year, Johann Bode named it 'Uranus', or God of the Sky, or the Heavens for the Greeks. Also, as per Greek mythos, Kronos is the son of Uranus, and Jupiter is the grandson of Uranus.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Neptune Another planet with a magnificent blue color, besides Earth, is Neptune. It was discovered by Johann Gottfried Galle in 1846, based on the predictions made by Urbain Le Verrier. Perturbations in the orbit of Uranus gave way to its discovery.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Initially, Galle wished to name it after Le Verrier, but the international astronomical community did not agree. So, it was named after Roman God of Sea. Poseidon is the Greek deity same as the Roman sea god.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Pluto Since the 2006 resolution of IAU that published the definition of what constitutes a planet, Pluto was no more in the list of nine. Discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, it is understood to be a dwarf planet instead.

Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017 It is named after the Roman God of the Underworld. It also exemplifies the eternal darkness that is associated with its distant location.