Mythological Naming - Part 1

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The Greeks and Romans had, and still have, a great influence on how objects in our night sky are named. Today, however, the official names of planets and their moons are governed by an organization known as the International Astronomical Union (IAU). This organization was established in 1919 with members consisting of professional astronomers and follows the mission statement, “to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation”. The IAU also has a rule established stating that the names of a planetary feature may not bear the name of a living person or of a political or religious figure from the last 200 years (star child). Although there is a governing body on how newly discovered planets and satellites are named, they continue to follow the old traditions by using mythological entities of the Greeks and Romans.

Every planet, except Earth, are named after the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. During this time period, it was believed that there were only seven astrological bodies in what we call today our solar system: The Sun, The Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

The Greeks and Romans, having previously established names for their gods and goddesses, associated those names to what they began viewing in the night sky. The Sun is named after the Roman god Apollo and is the center of our solar system. Mercury was named after the Roman god of travel due to its appearance as moving swiftly across the sky. Because she was considered the brightest and most beautiful planet or star in the heavens, Venus received her planetary name based off the Roman goddess of beauty and love. When viewing Mars, you can see quite easily that this planet has a predominantly red coloring to it, viewable with the naked eye or telescope. For this reason, this planet received its planetary name after the Roman god of war and blood. Not including the Sun, Jupiter is the largest and possibly most important planet in our solar system. In Greek mythology, Zeus - or Jupiter in Roman mythology, is known as the king of the gods and sky, and so became the name of the largest planet. Then there is Saturn, Roman name for the Greek Cronus, father of Zeus and second largest planet in the solar system.

Today we know there are more planets and moons within the solar system. We also know that Earth is not the center or the Universe. In the years prior to Copernicus, everyone believed that the Earth was the center of our Universe and believed stars in the sky were mere holes in a glass ball that surrounded the Earth (Astronomy). It was not until Galileo Galilei in 1609, turned his attention to the sky using a new invention called the telescope which changed everyone’s opinion. The biggest influence or factor that backed this new realization, was discovery of four moons’ circling the planet Jupiter. After seeing these satellites orbiting another body that was not Earth, it was determined that our planet was not the center of the Universe.

In my next blog, I will be discussing the mythology behind the names given to the Earth and Moon, the satellites of other planets, as well as the names of the planets not discussed in this blog.

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Works Cited

"Ask an Astronomer." Cool Cosmos. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

"Astronomy and Space for Kids." Astronomy and Space for Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

"How Do Planets and Their Moons Get Their Names?" How Do Planets and Their Moons Get Their Names? High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center, Aug. 2002. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

"How the Planets and Satellites Got Their Names." How the Planets and Satellites Got Their Names. Sandbox Networks, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

"The Planets of the Solar System: A Quick Guide to Their Mythological Name Origins." Origins of Planet Names: A Quick Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.