Pluto is back in the news! NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has flown by the tiny planet and sent back photos, including one showing a heart-like design. I was sad when Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet back in 2006; it is thrilling to see photos from so far away and learn more about little Pluto. Here is a little background information about finding Pluto in the early twentieth century, including an explanation of its name. Because Pluto is named for the Roman god of the underworld, Pluto's moons are also related to mythology. Styx is the river in the underworld by which the gods swore oaths; Nix is the Latin word for snow, but it is also an altered spelling of the Greek (nyx) meaning "night" and when capitalized Nyx, the goddess of night; Hydra is a many-headed water monster who could be found in the underworld; Kerberos is the transliterated Greek spelling of Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to the underworld; and the largest moon is called Charon, the ferryman who carried shades, and sometimes heroes like Aeneas, across the river Styx.
In Greek ploutos means "wealth," and the name Pluto means the "wealthy" one. So the god of the underworld rules over the shades of the dead, but he also is lord of all that is found in the earth. English has the words plutocrat "one with power from wealth" and plutocracy "power of the wealthy."
Today Pluto is making us rich in astronomical knowledge.
No comments:
Post a Comment