When it comes to their names, the cast of
characters in the nighttime sky is much stranger than you might think.
Wanderers
The word “planet” has its roots in the Greek
words planāsthai, meaning “to wander,” and planētēs,
meaning “wanderer.” The ancient Greeks likely
used this name because they
observed the planets moving, unlike other celestial objects.
The wandering planets have elliptical orbits, which means that they revolve around the Sun in a path shaped like
an oval, not a circle. The word “elliptical” comes from the Greek word elleiptikos,
meaning “defective.” Elleiptikos, in turn, comes from the Greek
word elleipsis, which means “a falling short.”
Armed Guards
You might know that a satellite is any celestial body or artificial instrument that orbits a planet. But
did you know that “satellite” comes from the Latin word satelles,
meaning “attendant” or “armed guard”? The Latin term probably has its roots in
an Etruscan word meaning “one who carries or strikes with an axe.”
Long-Haired Stars
A comet is essentially a body of ice and rock with a long, glowing vapor tail. The
comet’s appearance was fancifully captured by the ancient Greeks when they
named it komētēs, meaning “wearing long hair.” (Komē is
the Greek word for “hair.”)
All Stars
Constellations are made up of stars—both literally and etymologically. The word gets its
name from the Late Latin constellātiō, which combines the Latin
words for “together” (com-) and “star” (stella).
Kinda Stars
A “quasar” is an extremely bright,
star-like object. Its name comes from an abbreviation of “quasi-stellar,”
highlighting its star-like quality.
Pulsating Stars
The term “quasar” influenced the name of the pulsar, which also emphasizes its
very nature. “Pulsar” is an abbreviation for “pulsating star,” referring to how
it rotates very quickly and releases pulses of radiation.
Star Sailors
The word “astronaut” is, ultimately, a
combination of two Greek words: astron, meaning “star,” and nautēs,
meaning “sailor.” You might also recognize nautēs as the basis
for the English word “nautical.”
A Galaxy So Nice, They Named It Twice
The Milky Way Galaxy was so named because it appears (if conditions are dark enough) as a white
band across the night sky.
But its name is a bit redundant, considering the
precursor to the word “galaxy”—the Latin galaxias—was used to refer
to the Milky Way. Not to mention that it derives from gala, the
Greek word for “milk.” “Galaxy” is also related to the Latin word for
“milk,” lac (seen in the word “lactose” and others).
A Star System So Famed, It Was Never Named
Despite humans’ affinity for naming things, the proper name of our
home solar system is simply “the Solar System.” What do you think it should be called?