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Why is Uranus the only planet in our solar system (excepting Earth, of course) that has moons NOT named after Roman or Greek deities?

Question #150192. Asked by odo5435.
Last updated Nov 22 2023.
Originally posted Nov 22 2023 8:11 AM.

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elburcher star
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elburcher star
24 year member
1523 replies avatar

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No one is certain where it started, but it is now tradition, a tradition that started in 1948. The "Literary Moons" are mostly named after Shakespearian characters, with another author thrown in...

link https://theworld.org/stories/2017-01-01/why-moons-uranus-are-named-after-characters-shakespeare

Response last updated by elburcher on Nov 22 2023.
Nov 22 2023, 9:40 AM
odo5435
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odo5435
13 year member
153 replies

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Yes, Shakespeare and all that, but WHY are Uranus' moons named differently? The reason goes back to the planet's discoverer and the planet's original name, which was not Uranus.

Response last updated by odo5435 on Nov 22 2023.
Nov 22 2023, 9:47 AM
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BigTriviaDawg star
Answer has 3 votes
Currently Best Answer
BigTriviaDawg star
7 year member
1007 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
William Hershel discovered Uranus in 1781 and originally wanted to name it in honor of King George III. Of course everyone outside of the British empire was not happy with the name. It wasn't until 70 years later that general agreement on the name Uranus was decided. In 1852, William Hershel's son decided to name the first two moons his father discovered. His friend William Lassell may have been to one to originally wanted the poetic character names. As more and more moon were discovered the tradition continued since the discoverers often are allowed to name their discoveries and they have chosen to continue with the Shakespeare and Pope names.
So, there's reason to believe that when his contemporary William Lassell stumbled upon two more of Uranus' moons in 1851, John Herschel may have had a hand in theirnaming, too.

In 1899, William Lassell's daughter Jane Lassell told a reporter that the moons' names were given by Sir John Herschel, "to whom my father applied." What that means for sure, we'll never know - she also said she lost their letters in a move - and Herschel never took the credit.

link https://theworld.org/stories/2017-01-01/why-moons-uranus-are-named-after-characters-shakespeare

Nov 22 2023, 2:56 PM
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