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Posted on 03/10/2015 7:27:55 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
The name is from Greek mythology “Ouranos” which when translated to Latin became Uranus. It was also called Georgium Sidus for a while.
*Cough* Choke* LOL!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus
Sir William Herschel announced its discovery on March 13, 1781, expanding the known boundaries of the Solar System for the first time in history. Uranus was the first planet discovered with a telescope.
Herschel notified the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, of his discovery and received this flummoxed reply from him on April 23: “I don’t know what to call it. It is as likely to be a regular planet moving in an orbit nearly circular to the sun as a Comet moving in a very eccentric ellipsis. I have not yet seen any coma or tail to it”.[27]
Although Herschel continued to describe his new object as a comet, other astronomers had already begun to suspect otherwise. Russian astronomer Anders Johan Lexell was the first to compute the orbit of the new object[28] and its nearly circular orbit led him to a conclusion that it was a planet rather than a comet. Berlin astronomer Johann Elert Bode described Herschel’s discovery as “a moving star that can be deemed a hitherto unknown planet-like object circulating beyond the orbit of Saturn”.[29] Bode concluded that its near-circular orbit was more like a planet than a comet.[30]
The object was soon universally accepted as a new planet. By 1783, Herschel acknowledged this to Royal Society president Joseph Banks: “By the observation of the most eminent Astronomers in Europe it appears that the new star, which I had the honour of pointing out to them in March 1781, is a Primary Planet of our Solar System.”[31] In recognition of his achievement, King George III gave Herschel an annual stipend of £200 on condition that he move to Windsor so that the Royal Family could look through his telescopes.[32]
Naming
Maskelyne asked Herschel to “do the astronomical world the faver [sic] to give a name to your planet, which is entirely your own, [and] which we are so much obliged to you for the discovery of”.[33] In response to Maskelyne’s request, Herschel decided to name the object Georgium Sidus (George’s Star), or the “Georgian Planet” in honour of his new patron, King George III.[34] He explained this decision in a letter to Joseph Banks:[31]
“In the fabulous ages of ancient times the appellations of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were given to the Planets, as being the names of their principal heroes and divinities. In the present more philosophical era it would hardly be allowable to have recourse to the same method and call it Juno, Pallas, Apollo or Minerva, for a name to our new heavenly body. The first consideration of any particular event, or remarkable incident, seems to be its chronology: if in any future age it should be asked, when this last-found Planet was discovered? It would be a very satisfactory answer to say, ‘In the reign of King George the Third’.”
Herschel’s proposed name was not popular outside Britain, and alternatives were soon proposed. Astronomer Jérôme Lalande proposed that it be named Herschel in honour of its discoverer.[35] Swedish astronomer Erik Prosperin proposed the name Neptune, which was supported by other astronomers who liked the idea to commemorate the victories of the British Royal Naval fleet in the course of the American Revolutionary War by calling the new planet even Neptune George III or Neptune Great Britain.[28] Bode opted for Uranus, the Latinized version of the Greek god of the sky, Ouranos. Bode argued that just as Saturn was the father of Jupiter, the new planet should be named after the father of Saturn.[32][36][37] In 1789, Bode’s Royal Academy colleague Martin Klaproth named his newly discovered element uranium in support of Bode’s choice.[38] Ultimately, Bode’s suggestion became the most widely used, and became universal in 1850 when HM Nautical Almanac Office, the final holdout, switched from using Georgium Sidus to Uranus.[36]
Uranus is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus, the father of Cronus (Saturn) and grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter), which in Latin became “Ouranus”.[1] It is the only planet whose name is derived from a figure from Greek mythology rather than Roman mythology. The adjective of Uranus is “Uranian”.[39] The pronunciation of the name Uranus preferred among astronomers is ,[2] with stress on the first syllable as in Latin Ouranus, in contrast to the colloquial, with stress on the second syllable and a long a, though both are considered acceptable.[e]
Interesting, thank you. I did just look up the guy who came up with it, Bode, 1747 or so.
Well, at any rate, we’re stuck with it.
Will. Not. Make. Cow. Jokes.
All those Uranians on Uranus aren’t going to be happy about the name we gave their planet!
Astronomers need to write an Algoreithm to explain the climate change on that planet but we know what the cause is........
.......if only the Uranians would appreciate Mother Urea then they would stop driving their Sport Uranian Vehicles and cooking with their bar-b-ues.
“Will. Not. Make. Cow. Jokes.”
What does cow flatulence have to do with Uranus?
They should change it to Urectum and end all these silly jokes.
This article sponsored by Gas-X.
“Bode argued that just as Saturn was the father of Jupiter, the new planet should be named after the father of Saturn.”
Love that these guys used these Greek origins.
As Spock would’ve said, ‘Fascinating’.
You can tell the story. I’ll pass. ;)
Best headline of the year ping!
The ancient Greeks and Romans knew of only five 'wandering stars' (Greek: πλανήται, planētai): Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Following the discovery of a sixth planet in the 18th century, the name Uranus was chosen as the logical addition to the series: for Mars (Ares in Greek) was the son of Jupiter, Jupiter (Zeus in Greek) the son of Saturn, and Saturn (Cronus in Greek) the son of Uranus. What is anomalous is that, while the others take Roman names, Uranus is a name derived from Greek in contrast to the Roman Caelus.
News we can use.
yet another "ain't the kind of place to raise your kids" place.
Hahahahaha! I needed a good headline laugh, tonight.
“OK planetary wizards, why is it its axis tilted 98 deg instead of 82 deg?”
______________
Nobody around with big enough hands to pull its finger?
Methane
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