Why do all the planets in our solar system have ancient Greek names?

The planets of our solar system are 8: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Most of them were discovered by ancient Greek astronomers. So it is not surprising that they were adopted by the names of the Greek gods. However, planets discovered many years later continued to take ancient Greek names. Why;

The official astronomical community considered that names from ancient Greek mythology should be carried on, thus honoring the Greeks who founded astronomy.

But how did each planet get its name?

Hermes

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest planet in our solar system. The ancient Greek astronomers noticed that it moves faster than the rest of the planets, which is why they called it the winged god Hermes, who, according to myths, was the messenger who carried messages to gods and people.

As it was later found out, it is really the “fastest” planet in our solar system, since it takes only 88 calendar days to make a complete revolution around the Sun.

Aphrodite

This planet is the brightest and can be seen with the naked eye from Earth. Thanks to its brilliance, the ancients called it Aphrodite, in honor of the goddess of beauty and protector of love.

Land

The ancient Greeks did not consider Earth a planet. They believed that she was the center of the universe and that everything revolved around her. They named it “Earth” after Gaia, who pre-existed with Chaos and Love-Phannis in creating the world.

Mars

It is a red planet – due to its chemical composition, which the ancient Greeks believed symbolized the blood of war. They gave him the name Ares, the god of war.

Jupiter

It is the largest planet in our solar system. The ancient Greeks probably realized this and that is why they called him Zeus, the king of the gods.

Saturn

It is at a greater distance from Earth and seems to move more slowly than the rest of the planets, which seem to be watching it from afar. The ancient Greeks called him Kronos, who, according to mythology, was a titan and the father of Zeus. His name is associated with time.

Many years later, the rest of the planets were discovered by English and French astronomers, who at first wanted to call them by their own names. However, the official astronomical community did not accept it and retained the tradition of planets bearing ancient Greek names.

sky

Since it is not visible to the naked eye from Earth, like other planets, Uranus in ancient times was not recognized as a planet. Until 1781, it was discovered by the British astronomer and musician (of German origin) Sir William Herschel (Sir Frederick William Herschel). It was the first planet to be discovered using a telescope.

Herschel wanted to name it “George’s Star” (or King George), in honor of King George III, for whom he was a personal astronomer, but the official scientific community wouldn’t allow it. German astronomer Johann Elert Bode named the new planet after Uranus, which redefined its orbit. According to Greek mythology, Uranus was the father of Saturn and grandfather of Zeus.

Poseidon

It is the only planet that was discovered (1846) by mathematical calculations and not after experimental observations.

The discovery of Neptune is credited to the French mathematician Urbain Leverrier, who specializes in celestial mechanics. He predicted its location—using only mathematics—and convinced astronomers to look for it.

His calculations were made to explain the deviations in the orbit of Uranus and Kepler’s and Newton’s laws. Leverrier sent the coordinates to the German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle, asking him to verify them. Galle located Neptune the same night he received Leverrier’s letter, within 1° of the expected location.

The discovery of Neptune is widely regarded as a dramatic vindication of celestial mechanics and is one of the most remarkable moments in science in the nineteenth century.

The German astronomer Johann Gottfried Gall, who helped discover it, suggested naming the planet Leveret in honor of his French colleague. But the international astronomical community at that time did not accept it. Finally Levrier himself named him Poseidon, after the ancient god of the sea. This is because this particular planet appears blue, as there is a high concentration of methane in its atmosphere.

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