Posted on by Abby Cessna

Names of the Planets

Planets and other objects in our Solar System. Credit: NASA.

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You may recognize the names of the planets from your high school literature course or a history class. That is because many of the planets were first discovered by ancient civilizations, and so planets are named after their gods.

The Romans named Mercury after the messenger of the gods because it appears to move so quickly.

Venus was named after the Roman goddess of love because of its shining presence. The planet is the brightest object in the sky beside the Moon and the Sun. A number of other cultures also named Venus after their own gods or goddesses of love and war.

Earth is the only planet not named after a god. The name is based on Germanic and Old English words for “ground.”

Mars was named after the Roman god of war because of its red color, which reminded people of blood. Other civilizations also had names for the planet based on its color. The Egyptians called it “Her Desher,” which means “the red one.”

Jupiter was named after the king of the gods – Zeus by the Greeks and Jupiter by the Romans. Ancient civilizations most likely named this planet after the most powerful god because of its size. Jupiter is the largest and most massive planet in our Solar System.

Saturn was named after the father of the king of gods as well as being the god of agriculture and harvest. In mythology, Saturn had taken the position of king of the gods from his own father, Uranus, and then Jupiter overthrew him. Saturn is the last planet that can be seen from Earth without the aid of a telescope.

Uranus was not discovered until 1781 by Sir William Herschel, so it was not necessarily going to be named after a Roman god. In fact, Herschel named the planet “Georgium Sidus” in honor of George III who was King of England at the time. Others called the planet Herschel in honor of the astronomer who had discovered it. The name Uranus, which is the name of the Roman god who is the father of Jupiter, was suggested by the astronomer Johann Bode. That name was widely accepted in the mid 1800’s, and it fit in with the other planets, which all had names from mythology.

Neptune had been observed by a number of astronomers, but they believed it was a star. Two people, John Couch Adams and Urban Le Verrier, calculated the planet’s location. Johann Galle, the astronomer who discovered the planet using Verrier’s calculations, wanted to name the planet after Verrier. Many astronomers objected though, so it was named after Neptune the Roman god of the sea. The name was very fitting because the planet is a bright sea blue.

Universe Today has a number of articles on the planets including facts about the planets and the planets of the solar system.

If you are looking for more information on the planets take a look at the planets and interesting facts about the planets.

Astronomy Cast has episodes on all of the planets, so start with Mercury.

Posted on by Abby Cessna

What are The Outer Planets of the Solar System?

The Jovian planets of the Solar System. Credit: bork.hampshire.edu

Astronomers have divided the eight planets of our solar system into the inner planets and the outer planets. The 4 inner planets are the closest to the Sun, and the outer planets are the other four – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The outer planets are also called the Jovian planets or gas giants. Like the inner planets, the outer planets have similar characteristics to one another.

The outer planets are so much larger than the inner planets that they make up 99 percent of the mass of the celestial bodies that orbit the Sun. Although mainly composed of gas, the outer planets also have other ingredients. Somewhere at the center is what scientist refer to as a rocky core, although it is actually composed of liquid heavy metals. While the inner planets have few or no moons, the outer planets have dozens each. The inner and outer planets are separated by the asteroid belt.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System with a mass more than three hundred times Earth’s mass. Jupiter is not only the largest planet, it also has the most moons – 63 identified so far. Jupiter is one of the brightest objects in the sky and has a very stormy atmosphere. One major storm, the Great Red Spot, is as big as the Earth.

Saturn is hard to miss with its distinctive, large rings. Although all of the outer planets have rings, Saturn’s are the most visible ones. Astronomers did not know that there any other planets with rings until 1977 when Uranus’ rings were discovered. Soon after that, astronomers discovered rings around both Jupiter and Neptune.

Uranus has the smallest mass of the outer planets, although in size it’s a little bigger than Neptune. It is the only planet to rotate on its side. Scientists are unsure why it rotates that way, although there are a couple theories. One suggests it suffered a major collision and another hypothesizes that smaller shifts during the planets’ formation caused its unusual rotation.

Neptune is the final outer planet in the solar system. Neptune’s winds are the fastest of any planets in the Solar System and can reach more than 1,200 miles per hour. While all of the outer planets’ atmospheres contain hydrogen and helium, Neptune and Uranus contain significant amounts of what astronomers call ices. These ices include water, ammonia, and methane. The methane in Neptune and Uranus is what gives the planets their blue color.

Check out these other articles from Universe Today on the outer solar system and the inner solar system.

If you are searching for more information, NASA has many articles, including one on the planets and Science Daily is also a rich resource for information on the outer planets.

Astronomy Cast has a number of episodes on the Jovian planets including this one on Jupiter.

Posted on by Matt Williams

Ten Interesting Facts About Uranus

Uranus as seen through the automated eyes of Voyager 2 in 1986. (Credit: NASA/JPL).

The gas (and ice) giant known as Uranus is a fascinating place. The seventh planet from out Sun, Uranus is the third-largest in terms of size, the fourth-largest in terms of mass, and one of the least dense objects in our Solar System. And interestingly enough, it is the only planet in the Solar System that takes it name from Greek (rather than Roman) mythology.

But these basic facts really only begin to scratch the surface. When you get right down to it, Uranus is chock full of interesting and surprising details – from its many moons, to its ring system, and the composition of its aqua atmosphere. Here are just ten things about this gas/ice giant, and we guarantee that at least one of them will surprise you.

Continue reading “Ten Interesting Facts About Uranus”