01. How did Uranus get its name? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

Jump to: navigation, search

The planet we now call Uranus has had many names during its history. After its discovery, the planet was first named the Georgian Planet, or George for short, after England's King George III. Astronomers outside of England, however, did not approve of the name and could not agree upon an appropriate name for the planet. Many suggestions including Herschel, Astraea and even Neptune were considered. Finally, after almost forty years of disagreement, astronomers settled on the name Uranus after the Greek god Ouranos, the first supreme god of the heavens.


Answer provided by Laura Peckyno & Robert Peckyno


Image:K2S logosmall.jpg Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer