In addition to the eight planets in our solar system, there are also more than a million minor planets, including five so-called dwarf planets, plus hundreds of thousands of asteroids. When an astronomer or amateur stargazer discovers one, they get to give it an official name according to certain conventions. For example, the proposed name must be no longer than 16 letters, and family pets’ monikers are also discouraged. The Dictionary of Minor Planet Names(Amazon) provides a fascinating look at how those choices reflect the discoverer’s interests and values. Among the minor planets names: Dizzy and MilesDavis(named for jazz artists Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis), FannyHensel (named for the sister of Felix Mendelssohn, an accomplished composer herself), and Oscarwilde, named for the poet who once observed that ‘“we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Far Out and Outta Sight Celestial Names”
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it. I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette. There are eight planets in our solar system, but there are also lots of what we call minor planets. Now, these are the five so-called dwarf planets, plus hundreds of thousands of asteroids. In fact, they’re estimated to be more than a million minor planets. And when astronomers discover a new one of these, they first assign to it a provisional combination of letters and numbers that carry certain information, like 2002 LM60, which tells you, among other things, that that particular minor planet was discovered in 2002. And then once they’ve done the calculations to confirm the orbit of this minor planet, it gets a permanent number. And at that point, the person who discovered the minor planet has up to 10 years to suggest an actual name for it.
And then they submit the name and their justification for it in a citation to an organization of astronomers who give it the go-ahead. And their rules for this, the name is preferably one word. It’s no more than 16 characters. There are no names of political figures or military events within the last century. And astronomers are discouraged from naming a newly discovered minor planet after a family pet. And they’re collected in something called the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. And it makes for some delicious browsing because it gives you a little glimpse into what these astronomers find meaningful. You know, meaningful enough to bestow on something out there in outer space.
It turns out that there are a lot of lovers of music because there’s a minor planet called Dizzy. You can imagine who that’s named for. Dizzy Gillespie, sure. Yep. There’s another minor planet named Miles Davis. All one word, Miles Davis. Yep. There’s a Charlie Parker, but there’s also a Fanny Hensel. That’s all one word, Fanny Hensel. And the citation explains that Fanny Hensel was the sister of Felix Mendelssohn. And it says she was an accomplished composer of leader, chamber music, and choral pieces. She also composed an oratorio.
And then there are other minor planet names that have to do with something personal. For example, there’s a minor planet called Autumn, and Autumn is named for the discoverer’s granddaughter. And there’s one called Sheila Wolfman, and it explains that Sheila Wolfman was one of the first child survivors of the Holocaust, liberated from Prague to northern England in August 1945. And finally, I was pleased to know that there’s a minor planet named Oscar Wilde. And the entry for that says, the great Anglo-Irish playwright Oscar Wilde will always be remembered for this line. We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
That’s wonderful. I also had a great time looking at this book, and a bunch of names leapt out at me. And there were two that I wanted to mention. Of course, many people just name their finds after themselves, and that’s fair, I guess. But one fellow just used his last name, which is Lamb, L-A-M-B. I just felt the idea of a fluffy white rock floating through space. There goes lamb. And another one, clearly a baseball fan named it Tokyo Giants. There’s a Tokyo Giants rock hurtling through space. And those are both delightful.
So you can find examples of these minor planet names throughout the Internet, but we’ll also link to them from our websites. Martha, I’m so glad that you had a good time reading that. I had a wonderful time. I’m going to share another couple later in the show. That’s fantastic. We’d love to hear how they do names wherever you are, whatever industry you’re in or at your house, wherever you live. And we’d love to hear your pet names, too. 1-877-929-9673 is toll-free, 24 hours a day in the United States and Canada. And if you’re somewhere else in the world, there are lots of ways to reach us. Just go to our website at waywordradio.org.
