How are the names for the satellites of the planets of the solar system chosen? Detailed answer

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How are the names for the satellites of the planets of the solar system chosen? Detailed answer

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How are the names for the satellites of the planets of the solar system chosen?

As a rule, the names of satellites are associated with the names of the planets around which they revolve. So, the satellites of Mars Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Horror) are named after the ferocious twin sons of the ancient Greek god of war Ares, identified with the Roman god of war Mars. The names of the Galilean satellites of Jupiter embody the names of the beloved heads of the Olympic gods Zeus - the princesses Io and Europe and the nymph Callisto, as well as the Trojan prince Ganymede, who was kidnapped by Zeus and became his butler (as you know, the cult of Zeus merged with the cult of the main god of the Romans Jupiter).

Most of the non-Galilean satellites of Jupiter are also named after characters in Greek mythology, one way or another connected with Zeus: Metis - the first wife of the Thunderer, Adrastea - the nymph who nursed the baby Zeus, Amalthea - the goat whose milk the baby Zeus was fed, etc. Names of characters Greek and Roman myths are also embodied in the names of the satellites of Saturn, Neptune and Pluto.

A somewhat different tradition manifested itself in the names of the satellites of Uranus. It was started by William Herschel, who discovered Uranus and its first two satellites. Herschel named them after the king of the fairies and elves Oberon and his wife Titania - the characters in W. Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Subsequently, the environment of Uranus was replenished by the little elf Pack, the spirit of the air Ariel, the eternally young Desdemona, Juliet and Ophelia, the ungrateful Cordelia (the youngest daughter of King Lear) and other Shakespearean characters.

The five satellites of Uranus, moving around the planet in the opposite direction, and besides having anomalously elongated orbits, received the names of obviously negative heroes of Shakespeare's drama "The Tempest": the wild ugly slave Caliban and his mother, "crooked from years and malice" Sycorax, their god Setebos, master of the spirits of Prospero (former Duke of Milan) and the drunken butler Stefano, who wanted to become the king of the island.

And only two satellites of Uranus are not "Shakespearean", but are associated with the poem of the English poet Alexander Pope "The Abduction of the Lock". These satellites are named after the main character Belinda and the gloomy and woeful spirit Umbriel.

Author: Kondrashov A.P.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

What kind of person managed to survive with hypothermia of the body up to 13 ° C?

Hypothermia, or hypothermia of the body, becomes fatal for the average person at temperatures below 28 °C. A long stay in this state leads first to a strong slowdown in motor and mental activity, pulse and breathing rate, then to the failure of the internal organs and, finally, to the failure of the brain. However, in some cases, people survived at much lower cooling. The current record is held by a 7-year-old Swedish girl who nearly drowned in the ocean. When she was taken to the hospital, the thermometer showed a body temperature of 13 ° C. According to the doctors, she was able to survive, including due to her age, since the developing brain is much better able to endure such difficulties.

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