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What names were suggested for Uranus before its modern name was adopted?
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Uranus
Two views of the southern hemisphere of Uranus, produced from images obtained by Voyager 2 on Jan. 17, 1986. In colours visible to the unaided human eye, Uranus is a bland, nearly featureless sphere (left). In a colour-enhanced view processed to bring out low-contrast details, Uranus shows the banded cloud structure common to the four giant planets (right). From the polar perspective of Voyager at the time, the bands appear concentric around the planet's rotational axis, which is pointing nearly toward the Sun. Small ring-shaped features in the right image are artifacts arising from dust in the spacecraft's camera.
Following its discovery in 1781 by William Herschel, the planet now known as Uranus was proposed to have several different names before the current convention was adopted:
- Georgium Sidus: Meaning "Georgian Star," this name was suggested by Herschel himself to honor his patron, King George III of England.1
- Georgian Planet: This name was commonly used by Herschel and others for the same reason.1
- Herschel: This name was favored by French astronomers.1
The planet was eventually named Uranus in keeping with the tradition of using names from Greek and Roman mythology, as Uranus is the father of Saturn, who is in turn the father of Jupiter.1