Herschel, a loyal topic of England’s King George III, prompt that the brand new planet be named Georgium Sidus, or George’s Star. This went in opposition to the naming conference that had developed within the Western world, wherein planets had been named after Roman deities. It was additionally much less interesting to astronomers outdoors Nice Britain for apparent causes. A number of various names had been tossed round, together with Herschel (after its discoverer) and Neptune. German astronomer Johann Elert Bode, whose observations helped set up the brand new object as a planet, prompt one other chance: Uranus.
Bode’s suggestion turned the most well-liked, and chemist Martin Klaproth even named his newly found component “uranium” in a present of help. Though astronomers in England continued to make use of Georgium Sidus till round 1850, they ultimately joined the remainder of the world in calling the seventh planet Uranus.
Though Uranus was a extra appropriate identify for a planet than George, it was nonetheless an odd alternative on reflection. The prevailing planet names reference the Roman gods, however Uranus is a variation on the identify of the Greek god Ouranos. Greek and Roman mythology share lots of the similar characters — simply given totally different names — and the Roman model of Ouranos is named Caelus. Bode will need to have most popular the sound of Ouranos as a result of he selected a Latinized model of the Greek identify fairly than the Roman identify itself. Ouranos turned Uranus, and the planet was formally named.
