Note :
| 1 Mercury  | 2 Venus  | 3 Earth  | 4 Mars  | 5 Jupiter  | 6 Saturn  | 7 Uranus  | 8 Neptune  | 9 Pluto  |
| 1 Mercury | 2 Venus | 3 Earth | 4 Mars | 5 Jupiter | 6 Saturn | 7 Uranus | 8 Neptune |
According to the IAU, there are eight planets and five recognized dwarf planets in the Solar System. In increasing distance from the Sun, the planets are:
The IAU recognizes five bodies as dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.Ceres and Pluto are known to be dwarf planets through direct observation. Eris is generally accepted as a dwarf planet because it is more massive than Pluto, whereas Haumea and Makemake qualified to be assigned names as dwarf planets based on their absolute magnitudes.In relative distance from the Sun, the five are:
- Ceres
– discovered on January 1, 1801, 45 years before Neptune. Considered a planet for half a century before reclassification as an asteroid. Accepted as a dwarf planet by the IAU on September 13, 2006. - Pluto
– discovered on February 18, 1930. Classified as a planet for 76 years. Reclassified as a dwarf planet by the IAU on August 24, 2006. - Haumea – discovered on December 28, 2004. Accepted by the IAU as a dwarf planet on September 17, 2008.
- Makemake – discovered on March 31, 2005. Accepted by the IAU as a dwarf planet on July 11, 2008.
- Eris – discovered on January 5, 2005. Called the "tenth planet" in media reports. Accepted by the IAU as a dwarf planet on September 13, 2006.
Former planets
The table below lists Solar System bodies formerly considered to be planets:
| Body | Current classification | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Moon | Moon | Classified as a planet in antiquity, in accordance with the now disproved geocentric model. | |
| Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto | Moon | The four largest moons of Jupiter, known as the Galilean moons after their discoverer Galileo Galilei. He referred to them as the "Medicean Planets" in honor of his patron, the Medici family. | |
| Titan,[e] Iapetus,[f] Rhea,[f] Tethys,[g] andDione[g] | Moon | Five of Saturn's larger moons, discovered by Christiaan Huygens and Giovanni Domenico Cassini. | |
| Ceres | Dwarf planet andasteroid | Regarded as planets from their discoveries between 1801 and 1807 until they were reclassified as asteroids during the 1850s.[63]
Ceres was subsequently classified as a dwarf planet in 2006.
| |
| Pallas, Juno, and Vesta | Asteroid | ||
| Astrea, Hebe, Iris, Flora, Metis, Hygeia,Parthenope, Victoria, Egeria, Irene, Eunomia | Asteroid | More asteroids, discovered between 1845 and 1851. The rapidly expanding list of bodies between Mars and Jupiter prompted their reclassification as asteroids, which was widely accepted by 1854.[64] | |
| Pluto | Dwarf planet andKuiper belt object | The first known trans-Neptunian object (i.e. minor planet with a semi-major axis beyond Neptune). Regarded as a planet from its discovery in 1930 until it was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. | |
| Eris | Dwarf planet andScattered disc object | Discovered in 2003, this trans-Neptunian object was recognized as a planet in 2005. The rapidly expanding list ofplutoids prompted the reclassification of dwarf planets in 2006. | |
ABOUT PLUTO :
IAU Press Release from the 2006 General Assembly "Result of the IAU Resolution Votes"
IAU "Questions and Answers on Planets"
IAU Press Release "Plutoid chosen as name for Solar System objects like Pluto"
20th century
| 1 Mercury | 2 Venus | 3 Earth | 4 Mars | 5 Jupiter | 6 Saturn | 7 Uranus | 8 Neptune |
However, in the 20th century, Pluto was discovered. After initial observations led to the belief it was larger than Earth, the object was immediately accepted as the ninth planet. Further monitoring found the body was actually much smaller: in 1936, Raymond Lyttleton suggested that Pluto may be an escaped satellite of Neptune, and Fred Whipple suggested in 1964 that Pluto may be a comet. However, as it was still larger than all known asteroids and seemingly did not exist within a larger population, it kept its status until 2006.
| 1 Mercury | 2 Venus | 3 Earth | 4 Mars | 5 Jupiter | 6 Saturn | 7 Uranus | 8 Neptune | 9 Pluto |
In 1992, astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail announced the discovery of planets around a pulsar, PSR B1257+12. This discovery is generally considered to be the first definitive detection of a planetary system around another star. Then, on October 6, 1995, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz of the University of Geneva announced the first definitive detection of an exoplanet orbiting an ordinary main-sequence star (51 Pegasi).
The discovery of extrasolar planets led to another ambiguity in defining a planet; the point at which a planet becomes a star. Many known extrasolar planets are many times the mass of Jupiter, approaching that of stellar objects known as "brown dwarfs". Brown dwarfs are generally considered stars due to their ability to fuse deuterium, a heavier isotope of hydrogen. While stars more massive than 75 times that of Jupiter fuse hydrogen, stars of only 13 Jupiter masses can fuse deuterium. However, deuterium is quite rare, and most brown dwarfs would have ceased fusing deuterium long before their discovery, making them effectively indistinguishable from supermassive planets.
21st century
With the discovery during the latter half of the 20th century of more objects within the Solar System and large objects around other stars, disputes arose over what should constitute a planet. There were particular disagreements over whether an object should be considered a planet if it was part of a distinct population such as a belt, or if it was large enough to generate energy by the thermonuclear fusion of deuterium.
A growing number of astronomers argued for Pluto to be declassified as a planet, since many similar objects approaching its size had been found in the same region of the Solar System (the Kuiper belt) during the 1990s and early 2000s. Pluto was found to be just one small body in a population of thousands.
Some of them including Quaoar, Sedna, and Eris were heralded in the popular press as the tenth planet, failing however to receive widespread scientific recognition. The announcement of Eris in 2005, an object 27% more massive than Pluto, created the necessity and public desire for an official definition of a planet.
Acknowledging the problem, the IAU set about creating the definition of planet, and produced one in August 2006. The number of planets dropped to the eight significantly larger bodies that had cleared their orbit (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), and a new class of dwarf planets was created, initially containing three objects (Ceres, Pluto and Eris).
New Definition of a Planet
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted on an official definition of the word "planet" at their general assembly on Aug. 24, 2006. Celestial bodies must meet the following conditions in order to be classified as planets: (1) The object must be in orbit around a star, while not being itself a star, (2) the body must be massive enough for its own gravity to pull it into a nearly spherical shape, and (3) the object has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. The last criterion is the one that led to Pluto's demotion. While the exact parameters of "clearing the neighborhood" have not been set, the other planets have either assimilated or repulsed most other objects in their orbits, and each has more mass than the combined total of everything else in its area. The same cannot be said for Pluto, which has turned out to be one of many objects in its orbit.
Pluto is Out!
Pluto's new classification is "dwarf planet," while the eight planets remaining—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—are planets. The dwarf planet definition mirrors the planet definition in the first two conditions. The third condition says that the object has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and the fourth states that it is not a satellite. A dwarf planet does not meet the third condition of a planet, but it must meet a fourth: a dwarf planet cannot be a satellite. As a result, Pluto's satellite Charon, briefly considered as a full-fledged planet in the solar system, is back to being a moon. The term "pluton" was rejected and the name for this class will be decided upon in the future.
| Orbital attributes | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Region of Solar System | Orbital radius (AU) | Orbital period (years) | Mean orbital speed (km/s) | Inclination to ecliptic | Orbital eccentricity | Planetary discriminant | ||||
| Ceres | Asteroid belt | 2.77 | 4.60 | 17.882 | 10.59° | 0.079 | 0.33 | ||||
| Pluto | Kuiper belt (plutino) | 39.48 | 248.09 | 4.666 | 17.14° | 0.249 | 0.077 | ||||
| Haumea | Kuiper belt (12:7) | 43.13 | 283.28 | 28.22° | 0.195 | 0.020 | |||||
| Makemake | Kuiper belt (cubewano) | 45.79 | 309.9 | 4.419 | 28.96° | 0.159 | 0.02 | ||||
| Eris | Scattered disc | 67.67 | 557 | 3.436 | 44.19° | 0.442 | 0.10 | ||||
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Planet Name Origins MERCURY
Named for the winged Roman god of travel because it appears to move so swiftly.
VENUS
Roman name for the goddess of love. This planet was considered to be the brightest and most beautiful planet or star in the heavens.
EARTH
The name Earth comes from the Indo-European base 'er,' which produced the Germanic noun 'ertho,' and ultimately German 'erde,' Dutch 'aarde,' Danish and Swedish 'jord,' and English 'earth.' Related forms include Greek 'eraze,' meaning 'on the ground,' and Welsh 'erw,' meaning 'field.'
THE MOON: Every civilization has had a name for the satellite of Earth that is known, in English, as the Moon. The name is of Anglo-Saxon derivation.
MARS
Named by the Romans for their god of war because of its red, bloodlike color. Other civilizations also named this planet from this attribute; for example, the Egyptians named it “Her Desher,” meaning “the red one.”
SATELLITES: Phobos (named for one of the horses that drew Mars' chariot); Deimos (named for one of Mars' companions).
JUPITER
The largest and most massive of the planets was named Zeus by the Greeks and Jupiter by the Romans; he was the most important deity in both pantheons. Jupiter's satellites are named after mythological characters who have some relationship to Zeus.
SATELLITES: Metis (first wife of Zeus); Adrastea (a nymph of Crete to whose care Zeus's mother entrusted the infant Zeus); Amalthea (a goat in some accounts, a princess of Crete in others, she suckled Zeus as a young child); Thebe (a nymph abducted by Zeus); Io (she was changed by Zeus into a cow to protect her from his jealous wife); Europa (she was seduced by Jupiter);Ganymede (beautiful young boy who became the cupbearer of the Olympian gods); Callisto (she was seduced by Zeus, who changed her into a bear to protect her from his wife's jealousy); Leda (seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan); Himalia (nymph who bore three sons of Zeus); Lysithia (one of Zeus' many lovers); Elara (a paramour of Zeus); Ananke (daughter of Zeus and Adrastea, goddess of fate and necessity); Carme (mother, by Zeus, of Britomartis); Pasiphaë (wife of Minos, mother of the Minotaur); Sinope (daughter of the river god Asopus and Merope). Other recently discovered and named satellites of Jupiter are: Themisto, Euporie, Orthosie, Euanthe, Thyone, Harpalyke, Hermippe, Praxidike, Iocaste, Passithee, Chaldene, Kale, Isonoe, Aitne, Erinome, Taygete, Kalyke, Eurydome, Autonoe, Sponde, Megaclite, and Callirrhoe. There are still 24 more Jovian satellites to be named.
SATURN
Saturn was the Roman name for the Greek Cronos, god of farming and the father of Zeus/Jupiter. Some of its satellites were named for Titans who, according to Greek mythology, were brothers and sisters of Saturn. The newest satellites were named for Gallic (Gaul, or ancient France), Norse, and Inuit (Eskimo) giants.
SATELLITES: Pan (the half-human, half-goat god of pastoralism); Atlas (a Titan who held the heavens on his shoulders); Prometheus (a Titan who gave many gifts to humanity, including fire); Pandora (a woman who opened the box that loosed a host of plagues upon humanity); Janus (a two-faced Roman god who could look forward and backward at the same time); Epimetheus (a Greek backward-looking god); Mimas (a Titan felled by Hephaestus); Enceladus (a Titan killed by Athene); Tethys (the wife of Oceanus and mother of all rivers); Telesto (a water nymph); Calypso (a daughter of Atlas and paramour of Odysseus); Dione (a sister of Cronos); Helene (a daughter of Zeus); Rhea (a daughter of Cronos); Titan; Hyperion (a Titan); Iapetus (a Titan); Phoebe (another name for Artemis, goddess of the moon). Satellites discovered in 2000 are: Kiviuq, Ijiraq, Paaliaq, Skadi, Albiorix, Erriapo, Siarnaq, Tarvos, Mundilfari, Suttung, Thrym, and Ymir. One more satellite, discovered in 2003, is yet to be named.
URANUS
Uranus was named for the Greek god of the sky. The astronmer William Lassell, who discovered two of Uranus' satellites in 1851, started the tradition of naming all of the planet's satellites for characters in the work of William Shakepseare and Alexander Pope.
SATELLITES: Cordelia (daughter of Lear in Shakespeare's “King Lear”); Ophelia (daughter of Polonius, fiance of Hamlet in Shakespeare's “Hamlet”); Bianca (daughter of Baptista, sister of Kate in Shakespeare's “Taming of the Shrew”); Cressida (title character in Shakespeare's “Troilus and Cressida”); Desdemona (wife of Othello in Shakespeare's “Othello”); Juliet (heroine of Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet”); Portia (rich heiress in Shakespeare's “Merchant of Venice”); Rosalind (daughter of the banished duke in Shakespeare's “As You Like It”); Belinda (character in Pope's “Rape of the Lock”); Puck (mischievous spirit in Shakespeare's “A Midsummer Night's Dream”); Miranda (the heroine of Shakespeare's “The Tempest”); Ariel (a benevolent spirit in Shakespeare's “The Tempest”); Umbriel (a malevolent spirit in Pope's“ Rape of the Lock”); Titania (the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's “A Midsummer Night's Dream”); Oberon (the king of the fairies in “A Midsummer Night's Dream”); Caliban (the brutish slave in Shakespeare's “The Tempest”); Sycorax (Caliban's mother in “The Tempest”); Prospero (the rightful Duke of Milan in “The Tempest”); Setebos (a false god worshiped by Caliban in “The Tempest”); Stephano (a drunken butler in “The Tempest”); Trinculo (a jester in “The Tempest”).
NEPTUNE
Neptune, a blue planet, was named for the Roman god of the sea.
SATELLITES: Naiad (a group of Greek water nymphs who were guardians of lakes, fountains, springs and rivers); Thalassa (Greek sea goddess); Despina (daughter of Neptune); Galatea (one of the attendants of Neptune); Larissa (a lover of Neptune); Proteus (a Greek sea god); Triton (the sea-god son of Poseidon/Neptune); Nereid (the Nereids, a group of fifty daughters, were attendants of Neptune). Five other recently discovered satellites are still unnamed.
PLUTO
News Flash (August 24, 2006)—
Pluto Demoted! Read About It Here.
Pluto Demoted! Read About It Here.
Pluto, the outermost planet in our solar system, was named after Roman god of the underworld, who was able to render himself invisible.
SATELLITE: Charon (the mythological boatman who ferried souls across the river Styx to Pluto for judgement).
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This page shows information about planetary bodies named by the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN), and about bodies named by the IAU Committee on Small Body Nomenclature that have surface features named by the WGPSN.
The IAU Minor Planet Center maintains a list of minor planet names.
Mercury
| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Named Mercurius by the Romans because it appears to move so swiftly. |
Venus
| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venus | Roman name for the goddess of love. This planet was considered to be the brightest and most beautiful planet or star in the heavens. Other civilizations have named it for their god or goddess of love/war. |
Earth System
| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth | The name Earth comes from the Indo-European base 'er,'which produced the Germanic noun 'ertho,' and ultimately German 'erde,' Dutch 'aarde,' Scandinavian 'jord,' and English 'earth.' Related forms include Greek 'eraze,' meaning 'on the ground,' and Welsh 'erw,' meaning 'a piece of land.' | |||
| Earth I (Moon) | Every civilization has had a name for the satellite of Earth that is known, in English, as the Moon. The Moon is known as Luna in Italian, Latin, and Spanish, as Lune in French, as Mond in German, and as Selene in Greek. |
Martian System
The names of the moons of Mars and the English translations of the names were specifically proposed by their discoverer, Asaph Hall, and as such, they have been accepted and retained under the current IAU nomenclature.| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mars | Named by the Romans for their god of war because of its red, bloodlike color. Other civilizations also named this planet from this attribute; for example, the Egyptians named it "Her Desher," meaning "the red one." | |||
| Mars I (Phobos) | Inner satellite of Mars. Named for one of the horses that drew Mars' chariot; also called an "attendant" or "son" of Mars, according to chapter 15, line 119 of Homer's "Iliad." This Greek word means "flight." | August 17, 1877 | Washington | A. Hall |
| Mars II (Deimos) | This outer Martian satellite was named for one of the horses that drew Mars' chariot; also called an "attendant" or "son" of Mars, according to chapter 15, line 119 of Homer's "Iliad." Deimos means "fear" in Greek. | August 11, 1877 | Washington | A. Hall |
Selected Asteroids (of the Main Belt) and their Satellites
| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (433) Eros | Named for the Greek god of love. | August 13, 1898 | Berlin | C.G. Witt |
| (951) Gaspra | Named for a resort on the Crimean Peninsula. | July 30, 1916 | Simeis | G. Neujmin |
| (243) Ida | Named for a nymph who raised the infant Zeus. Ida is also the name of a mountain on the island of Crete, the location of the cave where Zeus was reared. | September 29, 1884 | Vienna | J. Palisa |
| (243) Ida I (Dactyl) | Named for a group of mythological beings who lived on Mount Ida, where the infant Zeus was hidden and raised (according to some accounts) by the nymph Ida. | August 28, 1993 | Galileo imaging and infrared science teams. | |
| (253) Mathilde | The name was suggested by a staff member of the Paris Observatory who first computed an orbit for Mathilde. The name is thought to honor the wife of the vice director of the Paris Observatory at that time. | November 12, 1885 | Vienna | J. Palisa |
| (22) Kalliope I (Linus) | Satellite of (22) Kalliope. In various accounts of Greek mythology, Linus is considered to be the son of the Muse Kalliope and the inventor of melody and rhythm. | August 29 and September 2, 2001 | Mauna Kea | J.-L. Margot, M.E. Brown, W.J. Merline, F. Menard, L. Close, C. Dumas, C.R. Chapman, and D.C. Slater |
| (45) Eugenia I (Petit-Prince) | Satellite of (45) Eugenia. The Little Prince, Napolean-Eugene-Louis-Jean-Joseph Bonaparte (1856-1879), was the son of Eugenia de Montijo de Guzm\'an and Napoleon III. | November 1, 1998 | Mauna Kea | W.J. Merline, L. Close, C. Dumas, C.R. Chapman, F. Roddier, F. Menard, D.C. Slater, G. Duvert, C. Shelton, and T. Morgan |
Jovian System
Satellites in the Jovian system are named for Zeus/Jupiter's lovers and descendants. Names of outer satellites with a prograde orbit generally end with the letter "a" (although an "o" ending has been reserved for some unusual cases), and names of satellites with a retrograde orbit end with an "e."| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jupiter | The largest and most massive of the planets was named Zeus by the Greeks and Jupiter by the Romans; he was the most important deity in both pantheons. | |||
| Jupiter I (Io) | Io, the daughter of Inachus, was changed by Jupiter into a cow to protect her from Hera's jealous wrath. But Hera recognized Io and sent a gadfly to torment her. Io, maddened by the fly, wandered throughout the Mediterranean region. | January 8, 1610 | Padua | Galileo (Simon Marius probably made an independent discovery of the Galilean satellites at about the same time that Galileo did, and he may have unwittingly sighted them up to a month earlier, but the priority must go to Galileo because he published his discovery first.) |
| Jupiter II (Europa) | Beautiful daughter of Agenor, king of Tyre, she was seduced by Jupiter, who had assumed the shape of a white bull. When Europa climbed on his back he swam with her to Crete, where she bore several children, including Minos. | January 8, 1610 | Padua | Galileo (who evidently observed the combined image of Io and Europa the previous night) |
| Jupiter III (Ganymede) | Beautiful young boy who was carried to Olympus by Jupiter disguised as an eagle. Ganymede then became the cupbearer of the Olympian gods. | January 7, 1610 | Padua | Galileo |
| Jupiter IV (Callisto) | Beautiful daughter of Lycaon, she was seduced by Jupiter, who changed her into a bear to protect her from Hera's jealousy. | January 7, 1610 | Padua | Galileo |
| Jupiter V (Amalthea) | A naiad who nursed the new-born Jupiter. She had as a favorite animal a goat which is said by some authors to have nourished Jupiter. The name was suggested by Flammarion. | September 9, 1892 | Mt. Hamilton | E.E. Barnard |
| Jupiter VI (Himalia) | A Rhodian nymph who bore three sons of Zeus. | December 4, 1904 | Mt. Hamilton | C.D. Perrine |
| Jupiter VII (Elara) | Daughter of King Orchomenus, a paramour of Zeus, and by him the mother of the giant Tityus. | January 3, 1905 | Mt. Hamilton | C.D. Perrine |
| Jupiter VIII (Pasiphae) | Wife of Minos, king of Crete. Zeus made approaches to her as a bull (taurus). She then gave birth to the Minotaur. (Spelling changed from Pasiphaë to Pasiphae July 2009.) | January 27, 1908 | Greenwich | P.J. Melotte |
| Jupiter IX (Sinope) | Daughter of the river god Asopus. Zeus desired to make love to her. Instead of this he granted perpetual virginity, after he had been deceived by his own promises. (In the same way, she also fooled Apollo.) | July 21, 1914 | Mt. Hamilton | S.B. Nicholson |
| Jupiter X (Lysithea) | Daughter of Kadmos, also named Semele, mother of Dionysos by Zeus. According to others, she was the daughter of Evenus and mother of Helenus by Jupiter. | July 6, 1938 | Mt. Wilson | S.B. Nicholson |
| Jupiter XI (Carme) | A nymph and attendant of Artemis; mother, by Zeus, of Britomartis. | July 30, 1938 | Mt. Wilson | S.B. Nicholson |
| Jupiter XII (Ananke) | Goddess of fate and necessity, mother of Adrastea by Zeus. | September 28, 1951 | Mt. Wilson | S.B. Nicholson |
| Jupiter XIII (Leda) | Seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan, she was the mother of Pollux and Helen. | September 11, 1974 | Palomar | C.T. Kowal |
| Jupiter XIV (Thebe) | An Egyptian king's daughter, granddaughter of Io, mother of Aigyptos by Zeus. The Egyptian city of Thebes was named after her. | March 5, 1979 | Voyager 1 | Voyager Science Team |
| Jupiter XV (Adrastea) | A nymph of Crete to whose care Rhea entrusted the infant Zeus. | July, 1979 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Jupiter XVI (Metis) | First wife of Zeus. He swallowed her when she became pregnant; Athena was subsequently born from the forehead of Zeus. | March 4, 1979 | Voyager 1 | Voyager Science Team |
| Jupiter XVII (Callirrhoe) | Daughter of the river god Achelous and stepdaughter of Zeus. | October 19, 1999 | Spacewatch | J.V. Scotti, T.B. Spahr, R.S. McMillan, J.A. Larson, J. Montani, A.E. Gleason, and T. Gehrels |
| Jupiter XVIII (Themisto) | Daughter of the Arcadian river god Inachus, mother of Ister by Zeus. | September 30, 1975, rediscovered November 21, 2000 | Palomar, rediscovered at Mauna Kea | C.T. Kowal and E. Roemer (1975), and S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, G. Magnier, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, and G.V. Williams (2000). |
| Jupiter XIX (Megaclite) | Daughter of Macareus, who with Zeus gave birth to Thebe and Locrus. | November 25, 2000 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, and G. Magnier |
| Jupiter XX (Taygete) | Daughter of Atlas, one of the Pleiades, mother of Lakedaimon by Zeus. | November 25, 2000 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, and G. Magnier |
| Jupiter XXI (Chaldene) | Bore the son Solymos with Zeus. | November 26, 2000 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, and G. Magnier |
| Jupiter XXII (Harpalyke) | Daughter and wife of Clymenus. In revenge for this incestuous relationship, she killed the son she bore him, cooked the corpse, and served it to Clymenus. She was transformed into the night bird called Chalkis, and Clymenus hanged himself. Some say that she was transformed into that bird because she had intercourse with Zeus. | November 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, and G. Magnier |
| Jupiter XXIII (Kalyke) | Nymph who bore the handsome son Endymion with Zeus. | November 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, and G. Magnier |
| Jupiter XXIV (Iocaste) | Wife of Laius, King of Thebes, and mother of Oedipus. After Laius was killed, Iocaste unknowingly married her own son Oedipus. When she learned that her husband was her son, she killed herself. Some say she was the mother of Agamedes by Zeus. | November 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, and G. Magnier |
| Jupiter XXV (Erinome) | Daughter of Celes, compelled by Venus to fall in love with Jupiter. | November 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, and G. Magnier |
| Jupiter XXVI (Isonoe) | A Danaid, bore with Zeus the son Orchomenos. | November 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, and G. Magnier |
| Jupiter XXVII (Praxidike) | Goddess of punishment, mother of Klesios by Zeus. | November 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, Y.R. Fernandez, and G. Magnier |
| Jupiter XXVIII (Autonoe) | Mother of the Graces by Zeus according to some authors. | December 10, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXIX (Thyone) | Semele, mother of Dionysos by Zeus. She received the name of Thyone in Hades by Dionysos before he ascended up with her from there to heaven. | December 11, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXX (Hermippe) | Consort of Zeus and mother of Orchomenos by him. | December 9, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXXI (Aitne) | A Sicilian nymph, conquest of Zeus. | December 9, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXXII (Eurydome) | Mother of the Graces by Zeus, according to some authors. (Source: Cornutus: Theologiae Graecae compendium 15) | December 9, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXXIII (Euanthe) | The mother of the Graces by Zeus, according to some authors. | December 11, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXXIV (Euporie) | One of the Horae, a daughter of Zeus and Themis. | December 11, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXXV (Orthosie) | One of the Horae, a daughter of Zeus and Themis. | December 11, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXXVI (Sponde) | One of the Horae (Seasons), daughter of Zeus. | December 9, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXXVII (Kale) | One of the Graces, a daughter of Zeus, husband of Hephaistos. | December 9, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXXVIII (Pasithee) | One of the Graces, a daughter of Zeus. | December 11, 2001 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt and J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter XXXIX (Hegemone) | One of the Graces, a daughter of Zeus. | February 8, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard |
| Jupiter XL (Mneme) | One of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus. | February 9, 2003 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman and L. Allen |
| Jupiter XLI (Aoede) | One of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus. | February 8, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard |
| Jupiter XLII (Thelxinoe) | One of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus. | February 9, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard |
| Jupiter XLIII (Arche) | One of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus. | October 31, 2002 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard |
| Jupiter XLIV (Kallichore) | One of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus. | February 6, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard |
| Jupiter XLV (Helike) | One of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus. | February 6, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard |
| Jupiter XLVI (Carpo) | One of the Horae, a daughter of Zeus. | February 26, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard |
| Jupiter XLVII (Eukelade) | One of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus. | February 5, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard |
| Jupiter XLVIII (Cyllene) | Daughter of Zeus, a nymph. | February 9, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard |
| Jupiter XLIX (Kore) | Daughter of Zeus and Demeter, also known as Persephone. | February 8, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Jupiter L (Herse) | Daughter of Zeus and divine moon (Selene). | February 27, 2003 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, and L. Allen |
Saturnian System
Satellites in the saturnian system are named for Greco-Roman titans, descendants of the titans, the Roman god of the beginning, and giants from Greco-Roman and other mythologies. Gallic, Inuit and Norse names identify three different orbit inclination groups, where inclinations are measured with respect to the ecliptic, not Saturn's equator or orbit. Retrograde satellites (those with an inclination of 90 to 180 degrees) are named for Norse giants (except for Phoebe, which was discovered long ago and is the largest). Prograde satellites with an orbit inclination of around 36 degrees are named for Gallic giants, and prograde satellites with an inclination of around 48 degrees are named for Inuit giants and spirits.| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturn | Roman name for the Greek Cronos, father of Zeus/Jupiter. Other civilizations have given different names to Saturn, which is the farthest planet from Earth that can be observed by the naked human eye. Most of its satellites were named for Titans who, according to Greek mythology, were brothers and sisters of Saturn. | |||
| Saturn I (Mimas) | Named by Herschel's son John in the early 19th century for a Giant felled by Hephaestus (or Ares) in the war between the Titans and Olympian gods. | July 18, 1789 | Slough | W. Herschel |
| Saturn II (Enceladus) | Named by Herschel's son John for the Giant Enceladus. Enceladus was crushed by Athene in the battle between the Olympian gods and the Titans. Earth piled on top of him became the island of Sicily. | August 28, 1789 | Slough | W. Herschel |
| Saturn III (Tethys) | Cassini wished to name Tethys and the other three satellites that he discovered (Dione, Rhea, and Iapetus) for Louis XIV. However, the names used today for these satellites were applied in the early 19th century by John Herschel, who named them for Titans and Titanesses, brothers and sisters of Saturn. Tethys was the wife of Oceanus and mother of all rivers and Oceanids. | March 21, 1684 | Paris | G.D. Cassini |
| Saturn IV (Dione) | Dione was the sister of Cronos and mother (by Zeus) of Aphrodite. | March 21, 1684 | Paris | G.D. Cassini |
| Saturn V (Rhea) | A Titaness, mother of Zeus by Kronos. | December 23, 1672 | Paris | G.D. Cassini |
| Saturn VI (Titan) | Named by Huygens, who first called it "Luna Saturni." In Greek Mythology, a Giant, and one of two generations of immortal giants (Titans) of incredible strength and stamina who were overthrown by a race of younger gods, the Olympians. | March 25, 1655 | The Hague | C. Huygens |
| Saturn VII (Hyperion) | Named by Lassell for one of the Titans. | September 16, 1848 | Cambridge, MA | W.C. Bond and G.P. Bond; independently discovered September 18, 1848 at Liverpool by W. Lassell |
| Saturn VIII (Iapetus) | Named by John Herschel for one of the Titans. | October 25, 1671 | Paris | G.D. Cassini |
| Saturn IX (Phoebe) | Named by Pickering for one of the Titanesses. | August 16, 1898 | Arequipa | W.H. Pickering |
| Saturn X (Janus) | First reported (though with an incorrect orbital period) and named by A. Dollfus from observations in Dec. 1966, this satellite was finally confirmed in 1980. It was proven to have a twin, Epimetheus, sharing the same orbit but never actually meeting. It is named for the Roman god of the beginning. The two-faced god could look forward and backward at the same time. | December 15, 1966 (Dollfus), February 19, 1980 (Pascu) | Pic du Midi (Dollfus), Washington (Pascu) | A. Dollfus (1966), D. Pascu (1980) |
| Saturn XI (Epimetheus) | First suspected by J. Fountain and S. Larson as confusing the detection of Janus. They assigned the correct orbital period, and the satellite was finally confirmed in 1980. Named for the son of the Titan Iapetus. In contrast with his far-sighted brother Prometheus, he "subsequently realized" that he was in the wrong. | 1977 (Fountain and Larson), February 26, 1980 (Cruikshank) | Tucson (Fountain and Larson), Mauna Kea (Cruikshank) | J. Fountain and S. Larson (1977), D. Cruikshank (1980) |
| Saturn XII (Helene) | A granddaughter of Kronos, for her beauty she triggered off the Trojan War. | March 1, 1980 | Pic du Midi | P. Laques and J. Lecacheux |
| Saturn XIII (Telesto) | Daughter of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. | April 8, 1980 | Tucson | B.A. Smith, H. Reitsema, S.M. Larson, and J. Fountain |
| Saturn XIV (Calypso) | Daughter of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys and paramour of Odysseus. | March 13, 1980 | Flagstaff | D. Pascu, P.K. Seidelmann, W. Baum, and D. Currie |
| Saturn XV (Atlas) | A Titan; he held the heavens on his shoulders. | October 1980 | Voyager 1 | Voyager Science Team |
| Saturn XVI (Prometheus) | Son of the Titan Iapetus, brother of Atlas and Epimetheus, he gave many gifts to humanity, including fire. | October 1980 | Voyager 1 | Voyager Science Team |
| Saturn XVII (Pandora) | Made of clay by Hephaestus at the request of Zeus. She married Epimetheus and opened the box that loosed a host of plagues upon humanity. | October 1980 | Voyager 1 | Voyager Science Team |
| Saturn XVIII (Pan) | Greek god of pastoralism, he was half goat and half human. Son of Hermes, brother of Daphnis, and a descendant of the Titans. Discovered orbiting in the Encke division in Saturn's A ring. | 1990 | Voyager 2 | M.R. Showalter |
| Saturn XIX (Ymir) | Ymir is the primordial Norse giant and the progenitor of the race of frost giants. | August 7, 2000 | La Silla | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XX (Paaliaq) | Named for an Inuit giant. | August 7, 2000 | La Silla | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXI (Tarvos) | Named for a Gallic giant. | September 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXII (Ijiraq) | Named for an Inuit giant. | September 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXIII (Suttungr) | Named for a Norse giant who kindled flames that destroyed the world. | September 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXIV (Kiviuq) | Named for an Inuit giant. | August 7, 2000 | La Silla | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXV (Mundilfari) | Named for an Norse giant. | September 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXVI (Albiorix) | Named for a Gallic giant who was considered to be the king of the world. | November 9, 2000 | Mt. Hopkins | M. Holman |
| Saturn XXVII (Skathi) | Named for a Norse giantess. | September 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXVIII (Erriapus) | Named for a Gallic giant. | September 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXIX (Siarnaq) | Named for an Inuit giant. | September 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXX (Thrymr) | Named for a Norse giant. | September 23, 2000 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl, M. Holman, B.G. Marsden, P. Nicholson and J.A. Burns |
| Saturn XXXI (Narvi) | Named for a Norse giant. | February 5, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, and J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XXXII (Methone) | One of the Alkyonides, the seven beautiful daughters of the Giant Alkyoneos. | June 1, 2004 | Cassini Imaging Science Team | |
| Saturn XXXIII (Pallene) | One of the Alkyonides, the seven beautiful daughters of the Giant Alkyoneos. | June 1, 2004 | Cassini Imaging Science Team | |
| Saturn XXXIV (Polydeuces) | Twin brother of Castor, son of Zeus and Leda. | October 21, 2004 | Cassini Imaging Science Team | |
| Saturn XXXV (Daphnis) | Shepherd, pipes player, and pastoral poet in Greek mythology. Son of Hermes, brother of Pan, and decendant of the Titans. Discovered orbiting in the Keeler gap in Saturn's A ring. | May 1, 2005 | Cassini Imaging Science Team | |
| Saturn XXXVI (Aegir) | Norse ocean giant who represents the peaceful sea, a stiller of storms. | December 12, 2004 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XXXVII (Bebhionn) | Beautiful Celtic giantess. | December 12, 2004 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XXXVIII (Bergelmir) | Norse frost giant, son of Ymir and one of the Hrimthursar, one of only two members of the frost giant race to escape being drowned in Ymir's blood. | December 12, 2004 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XXXIX (Bestla) | Norse primeval goddess, mother of deities, daughter of the giant Bolthorn. | December 13, 2004 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XL (Farbauti) | Norse storm giant, father of Loki. | December 12, 2004 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XLI (Fenrir) | Norse monstrous wolf, son of Loki and the giantess Angurboda, father of Hati and Skoll. | December 13, 2004 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XLII (Fornjot) | Early Norse storm giant, father of Aegir, Kari, and Loge. | December 12, 2004 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XLIII (Hati) | Gigantic Norse wolf, twin of Skoll. | December 12, 2004 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XLIV (Hyrrokkin) | Norse giantess who launched Balder's funeral ship. (Spelling changed from Hyrokkin.) | December 12, 2004 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XLV (Kari) | Norse wind giant. | January 4, 2006 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XLVI (Loge) | Norse fire giant, son of Fornjot. | January 5, 2006 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XLVII (Skoll) | Gigantic Norse wolf, twin of Hati. | January 5, 2006 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XLVIII (Surtur) | Norse leader of the fire giants. | January 5, 2006 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn XLIX (Anthe) | One of the Alkyonides, the seven beautiful daughters of the Giant Alkyoneos. | May 30, 2007 | Cassini Imaging Science Team | |
| Saturn L (Jarnsaxa) | Norse giantess and Thor's lover. | January 5, 2006 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewittt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn LI (Greip) | Norse giantess. | January 5, 2006 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewittt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn LII (Tarqeq) | Inuit moon spirit. | January 16, 2007 | Mauna Kea | S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewittt, J. Kleyna |
| Saturn LIII (Aegaeon) | Greek hundred-armed giant, called Briareus by the gods. | August 15, 2008 | Cassini Imaging Science Team |
Uranian System
Satellites in the uranian system are named for characters from Shakespeare's plays and from Pope's "Rape of the Lock."| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uranus | Several astronomers, including Flamsteed and Le Monnier, had observed Uranus earlier but had recorded it as a fixed star. Herschel tried unsuccessfully to name his discovery "Georgian Sidus" after George III; the planet was named by Johann Bode in 1781 after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus, the father of Kronos (Saturn) and grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter). | March 13, 1781 | Bath | W. Herschel |
| Uranus I (Ariel) | Named by John Herschel for a sylph in Pope's "Rape of the Lock." | October 24, 1851 | Liverpool | W. Lassell |
| Uranus II (Umbriel) | Umbriel was named by John Herschel for a malevolent spirit in Pope's "Rape of the Lock." | October 24, 1851 | Liverpool | W. Lassell |
| Uranus III (Titania) | Named by Herschel's son John in early 19th century for the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." | January 11, 1787 | Slough | W. Herschel |
| Uranus IV (Oberon) | Named by Herschel's son John in early 19th century for the king of the fairies in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." | January 11, 1787 | Slough | W. Herschel |
| Uranus V (Miranda) | Named by Kuiper for the heroine of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." | February 16, 1948 | Fort Davis | G.P. Kuiper |
| Uranus VI (Cordelia) | Daughter of Lear in Shakespeare's "King Lear." | January 20, 1986 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus VII (Ophelia) | Daughter of Polonius, fiance of Hamlet in Shakespeare's "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." | January 20, 1986 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus VIII (Bianca) | Daughter of Baptista, sister of Kate, in Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." | January 23, 1986 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus IX (Cressida) | Title character in Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida." | January 9, 1986 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus X (Desdemona) | Wife of Othello in Shakespeare's "Othello, the Moor of Venice." | January 13, 1986 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus XI (Juliet) | Heroine of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." | January 3, 1986 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus XII (Portia) | Wife of Brutus in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." | January 3, 1986 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus XIII (Rosalind) | Daughter of the banished duke in Shakespeare's "As You Like It." | January 13, 1986 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus XIV (Belinda) | Character in Pope's "Rape of the Lock." | January 13, 1986 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus XV (Puck) | Mischievous spirit in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." | December 30, 1985 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Uranus XVI (Caliban) | Named for the grotesque, brutish slave in Shakespeare's "The Tempest." | September 6, 1997 | Palomar | B. Gladman, P. Nicholson, J.A. Burns and J. Kavelaars |
| Uranus XVII (Sycorax) | Named for Caliban's mother in Shakespeare's "The Tempest." | September 6, 1997 | Palomar | P. Nicholson, B. Gladman, J. Burns and J. Kavelaars |
| Uranus XVIII (Prospero) | Named for the rightful Duke of Milan in "The Tempest." | July 18, 1999 | Mauna Kea | M. Holman, J. Kavelaars, B. Gladman, J.-M. Petit, and H. Scholl |
| Uranus XIX (Setebos) | Setebos was a new-world (South American) deity's name that Shakespeare popularized as Sycorax's god in "The Tempest." | July 18, 1999 | Mauna Kea | J. Kavelaars, B. Gladman, M. Holman, J.-M. Petit, and H. Scholl |
| Uranus XX (Stephano) | Named for a drunken butler in "The Tempest." | July 18, 1999 | Mauna Kea | B. Gladman, M. Holman, J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, and H. Scholl |
| Uranus XXI (Trinculo) | A jester in Shakespeare's "The Tempest." | August 13, 2001 | Cerro Tololo | M. Holman, J.J. Kavelaars and D. Milisavljevic |
| Uranus XXII (Francisco) | A lord in "The Tempest." | August 13, 2001 | Cerro Tololo | J. Kavelaars, M. Holman, D. Milisavljevic, and T. Grav |
| Uranus XXIII (Margaret) | A gentlewoman attending on Hero from "Much Ado About Nothing." | August 29, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt |
| Uranus XXIV (Ferdinand) | Son of the King of Naples in "The Tempest." | August 13, 2001 | Cerro Tololo | D. Milisavljevic, M. Holman, J. Kavelaars, and T. Grav |
| Uranus XXV (Perdita) | Daughter of Leontes and Hermione in "The Winter's Tale." | January 18, 1986 | Voyager 2 | E. Karkoschka |
| Uranus XXVI (Mab) | The fairies' midwife in "Romeo and Juliet." | August 25, 2003 | Hubble Space Telescope | M.R. Showalter and J.J. Lissauer |
| Uranus XXVII (Cupid) | A character in "Timon of Athens." | August 25, 2003 | Hubble Space Telescope | M.R. Showalter and J.J. Lissauer |
Neptunian System
Satellites in the neptunian system are named for characters from Greek or Roman mythology associated with Neptune or Poseidon or the oceans. Irregular satellites are named for the Nereids, the daughters of Nereus and Doris, and the attendants of Neptune.| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neptune | Neptune was "predicted" by John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier who, independently, were able to account for the irregularities in the motion of Uranus by correctly predicting the orbital elements of a trans- Uranian body. Using the predicted parameters of Le Verrier (Adams never published his predictions), Johann Galle observed the planet in 1846. Galle wanted to name the planet for Le Verrier, but that was not acceptable to the international astronomical community. Instead, this planet is named for the Roman god of the sea. | September 23, 1846 | Berlin | J.G. Galle |
| Neptune I (Triton) | Triton is named for the sea-god son of Poseidon (Neptune) and Amphitrite. The first suggestion of the name Triton has been attributed to the French astronomer Camille Flammarion. | October 10, 1846 | Liverpool | W. Lassell |
| Neptune II (Nereid) | The Nereids were the fifty daughters of the sea god Nereus and Doris and were attendants of Poseidon (Neptune). | May 1, 1949 | Fort Davis | G.P. Kuiper |
| Neptune III (Naiad) | The name of a group of Greek water nymphs who were guardians of lakes, fountains, springs, and rivers. | August 1989 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Neptune IV (Thalassa) | Greek sea goddess. Mother of Aphrodite in some legends; others say she bore the Telchines. | August 1989 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Neptune V (Despina) | Daughter of Poseidon (Neptune) and Demeter. | July 1989 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Neptune VI (Galatea) | One of the Nereids, attendants of Poseidon. | July 1989 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Neptune VII (Larissa) | A lover of Poseidon. After the discovery by Voyager, it was established that an occultation of a star by this satellite had been fortuitously observed in 1981 by H. Reitsema, W. Hubbard, L. Lebofsky, and D. J. Tholen. | July 1989 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Neptune VIII (Proteus) | Greek sea god, son of Oceanus and Tethys. | June 1989 | Voyager 2 | Voyager Science Team |
| Neptune IX (Halimede) | One of the Nereids, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. | August 14, 2002 | Cerro Tololo | M. Holman, J. Kavelaars, T. Grav, W. Fraser, and D. Milisavljevic |
| Neptune X (Psamathe) | One of the Nereids, lover of Aeacus and mother of Phocus. | August 29, 2003 | Mauna Kea | S.S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, and J. Kleyna |
| Neptune XI (Sao) | One of the Nereids, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. | August 14, 2002 | Cerro Tololo | T. Grav, M. Holman, J. Kavelaars, W. Fraser, and D. Milisavljevic |
| Neptune XII (Laomedeia) | One of the Nereids, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. | August 13, 2002 | Cerro Tololo | J. Kavelaars, M. Holman, T. Grav, W. Fraser, and D. Milisavljevic |
| Neptune XIII (Neso) | One of the Nereids, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. | August 14, 2002 | Cerro Tololo | M. Holman, J. Kavelaars, T. Grav, W. Fraser, and D. Milisavljevic |
Dwarf Planets and their Systems
IAU Resolutions 5 and 6, "Definition of a Planet in the Solar System" AND "Pluto"IAU Press Release from the 2006 General Assembly "Result of the IAU Resolution Votes"
IAU "Questions and Answers on Planets"
IAU Press Release "Plutoid chosen as name for Solar System objects like Pluto"
Ceres
| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) Ceres | Roman goddess of corn and harvests. | January 1, 1801 | Palermo Astronomical Observatory | Giuseppe Piazzi |
Pluto
Satellites in the plutonian system are named for characters and creatures in the myths surrounding Pluto (Greek Hades) and the classical Greek and Roman Underworld.| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (134340) Pluto | Pluto was discovered at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ during a systematic search for a trans-Neptune planet predicted by Percival Lowell and William H. Pickering. Named after the Roman god of the underworld who was able to render himself invisible. | January 23, 1930 | Flagstaff | C.W. Tombaugh |
| (134340) Pluto I (Charon) | Named after the Greek mythological boatman who ferried souls across the river Styx to Pluto for judgement. | April 13, 1978 | Flagstaff | J.W. Christy |
| (134340) Pluto II (Nix) | Goddess of darkness and night, mother of Charon. (Nix is the Egyptian spelling of the Greek name Nyx.) | May 15, 2005 | Hubble Space Telescope | H.A. Weaver, S.A. Stern, M.J. Mutchler, A.J. Steffl, M.W. Buie, W.J. Merline, J.R. Spencer, E.F. Young, and L.A. Young |
| (134340) Pluto III (Hydra) | In Greek mythology, terrifying monster with the body of a serpent and nine heads that guarded the underworld. | May 15, 2005 | Hubble Space Telescope | H.A. Weaver, S.A. Stern, M.J. Mutchler, A.J. Steffl, M.W. Buie, W.J. Merline, J.R. Spencer, E.F. Young, and L.A. Young |
| (134340) Pluto IV (Kerberos) | In Greek mythology, the many-headed dog that guarded the entrance to the underworld. | June 28, 2011 | Hubble Space Telescope | M.R. Showalter, D.P. Hamilton, S.A. Stern, H.A. Weaver, A.J. Steffl, and L.A. Young |
| (134340) Pluto V (Styx) | Greek goddess who ruled over the underworld river also named Styx. | June 26, 2012 | Hubble Space Telescope | M.R. Showalter, H.A. Weaver, S.A. Stern, A.J. Steffl, M.W. Buie, W.J. Merline, M.J. Mutchler, R. Soummer, and H.B. Throop |
Haumea
| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (136108) Haumea | Hawaiian goddess of childbirth and fertility. | March 7, 2003 | Sierra Nevada Observatory, Spain | |
| (136108) Haumea I (Hi'iaka) | Daughter of Haumea, patron goddess of the island of Hawaii and of hula dancers. | January 26, 2005 | Keck Observatory, Mauna Kea | M.E. Brown and the adaptive-optics team |
| (136108) Haumea II (Namaka) | Daughter of Haumea, water spirit in Hawaiian mythology. | November 7, 2005 | Keck Observatory, Mauna Kea | M.E. Brown and the adaptive-optics team |
Eris
| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (136199) Eris | Greek goddess of discord and strife. | October 21, 2003 | Palomar Observatory | M.E. Brown, C.A. Trujillo, and D. Rabinowitz |
| (136199) Eris I (Dysnomia) | Eris' daughter, spirit of lawlessness. | September 10, 2005 | Keck Observatory, Mauna Kea | M.E. Brown and the adaptive-optics team |
Makemake
| Body | Description | Date of Discovery | Discovery Location | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (136472) Makemake | Polynesian (Rapa Nui/Easter Island) creator god. | March 31, 2005 | Palomar Observatory | M.E. Brown, C.A. Trujillo, and D.L. Rabinowitz |
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