[X] My Assistant

[Jyril]

Why not to rename it, not after the Greek name, but after the most ancient Indian name? Ouranos. Nice name, and a acknowledgement of a little known history: Indian gods are the parents of the greek gods.

Since when?

However, it is true that many Greek and Vedic gods are related; the best example is the Indo-European sky god Dyēus (Greek Zeus, Roman Ius Pater -> Jupiter, Vedic Dyauṣ Pitā, Germanic Tiwaz -> Tyr, Baltic Dievas, Slavic Div).

[Guest_Richard Trigaux_*]

Since when?

However, it is true that many Greek and Vedic gods are related; the best example is the Indo-European sky god Dyēus (Greek Zeus, Roman Ius Pater -> Jupiter, Vedic Dyauṣ Pitā, Germanic Tiwaz -> Tyr, Baltic Dievas, Slavic Div).

There are many other correspondences like that. For instance the greek Ouranos (god of the skies) would be the same than Varuna in India. The reason why it is so is that the Indo-European culture evolved into several separate branches, which created each one its mythology, but starting from the same basis. In the case of the Greeks, they said their Gods were the sons of the former indian gods, so that they still acknowledge the indian gods, but India ignores the greek gods.

Varuna is already used to name a KBO, otherwise it woould be fine to rename you know which planet and end any pun about it.

By the way this problem is only for english people, in other languages it don't sound the same.

[tasp]

Introduction to Asteroids lists several naming problems.

1036 Ganymed and Ganymede

203 Kallisto and Callisto

38 Leda and Leda

85 Io and Io

106 Dione and Dione

593 Titania and Titania


Also, several pairs of asteroids are confusingly named.

908 Buda and 1158 Luda

1266 Tone and 924 Toni ( by now there is probably a Tony out there too . . . .)

1792 Reni and 1371 Resi

265 Anna and 1668 Hanna

(There is quite a list of these)




I suppose we can caution folks to be careful picking names, but once IAU confers the blessing, we be stuck with the it.

[Rob Pinnegar]

Io obviously ought to be Aitne/Aetna or Vulcan or some similar name alluding to Io's many volcanoes.

Geez, that's a good point about Io. It really does deserve the name "Vulcan". There goes my idea of swapping the names of the Big Four asteroids with those of the Galileans.

I suppose we could always leave out Vesta. She was always kind of a dull homebody, anyways.

By the way: You can't keep us on tenterhooks forever about your renaming idea for "Ouranus", Phil!

[ljk4-1]

Geez, that's a good point about Io. It really does deserve the name "Vulcan". There goes my idea of swapping the names of the Big Four asteroids with those of the Galileans.

Vulcan is already chosen for that planet inside Mercury's orbit, to say nothing
of that other world with the beings with pointy ears and extreme logic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_%28planet%29

[Rob Pinnegar]

In other news...

1266 Tone and 924 Toni ( by now there is probably a Tony out there too . . . .)

Well, as long as the number is included, it shouldn't be a problem. That's the key.

A far worse problem can be found in the naming of the chemical elements. Four of them are named after the town of Ytterby in Sweden: yttrium, ytterbium, erbium and terbium. Letting a discoverer name their discovery is all fine and dandy but this is bloody confusing! Chemistry is difficult enough to learn without throwing curveballs like this at the students.

Don't get me started on "metal-rich stars"...

[ilbasso]

Since everything in America is gradually being renamed after Ronald Reagan, perhaps the only way to stop the trend once and for all is to rename American's home planet "The Ronald R. Reagan Memorial Home Planet." People might not like having the entire planet named after him, but it would stop the madness.

The other possibility is to take advantage of corporate naming rights. Every sports venue and theatre in America has its name up for sale to the highest bidder. We could fund a tremendous amount of space research if the AU were to sell naming rights to the planets, asteroids, and moons.

Ford Motor Company should already be charged for Mercury - they've had the free advertising all this time. Likewise, Mars Corp. should be charged retroactively for the 4th planet. The petrochemical companies would probably go after the gas giants...

[ljk4-1]

While I would hate to see it go to extremes, I don't think giving a
minor planetoid the same moniker as a giant moon is much of a
problem.

The general public won't know or care, any good astronomer will
know the difference, and any astronaut who can't tell the difference
when trying to land on one of those celestial bodies should not be
flying up there.

Maybe we should just number everything, like the Borg.

[Jyril]

For instance the greek Ouranos (god of the skies) would be the same than Varuna in India.

Ouranos becomes from the proto-Greek word *worsanos, 'moisten'. The link to Varuna has been largely rejected.

In the case of the Greeks, they said their Gods were the sons of the former indian gods, so that they still acknowledge the indian gods, but India ignores the greek gods.

Greek gods are sons of Indian gods? That statement doesn't make sense because all the Greek deities are children of Gaia (who is a child of Chaos which was before anything else). Gaia gave birth to Uranos, and their children are the titans and gigants. The children and grandchildren of titan Chronus are the Olympian gods.

The Vedic gods who are related to Greek gods in etymological sense are largely abandoned in the modern Hinduism.

By the way this problem is only for english people, in other languages it don't sound the same.

Indeed. Still I hope that there won't be a planet called Persephone, for the same reason. (If you want to know what Persefone means in my mother tongue Finnish, just replace 'Pe' with 'A' )

[tty]

A far worse problem can be found in the naming of the chemical elements. Four of them are named after the town of Ytterby in Sweden: yttrium, ytterbium, erbium and terbium. Letting a discoverer name their discovery is all fine and dandy but this is bloody confusing! Chemistry is difficult enough to learn without throwing curveballs like this at the students.

It isn't even a town, just a tiny village with an abandoned feldspar mine where all those "rare earths" were found.

tty

[Guest_DonPMitchell_*]

This is a strange thread. Who are we to rename planets and moons and chemical elements for no good reason?

[dvandorn]

Since everything in America is gradually being renamed after Ronald Reagan, perhaps the only way to stop the trend once and for all is to rename American's home planet "The Ronald R. Reagan Memorial Home Planet."

Ummmm.... No. I'll be good. I shan't say a word...

-the other Doug

[Guest_Richard Trigaux_*]

To be noted a thread on naming unnamed asteroids, where verybody can actually excert his talents:
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...wtopic=2866&hl=

This is a strange thread. Who are we to rename planets and moons and chemical elements for no good reason?

We are not intelligent beings, just joking beings.

This thread is just for fun, I think, although there are relevant issues about some names. Nobody really intend to actually change planet names, I think, even when there are problems about them.

[Rob Pinnegar]

Just wrapping up a loose end here: In the first post in this thread, I said:

[Edit: Upon a bit more reflection, I can think of two others. One of these is so glaringly axiomatic to anyone who speaks English that, naturally, I didn't think of it at first. The other is not so obvious and I'll wait to see if anyone else comes up with it.]

The not-so-obvious one is the moon we currently call Hyperion, which, let's face it, looks a lot more like a Puck.

[volcanopele]

Europa shall hense forth be known as Lilliput and Blefuscu. Which ever name you wish to call it is up to you.

Vixgizmo may appreciate that joke...