• Question: how did uranus get its name?

    Asked by Miss R to Ajay, Kate, Kuntal, Pip, Reka on 14 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Reka Nagy

      Reka Nagy answered on 14 Nov 2016:

      A fellow called Johann Elert Bode gave Uranus its name. Uranus is the name of the ancient GREEK god of the Sky.

      All the other planets are named after ancient gods, but using their roman, rather than greek names.

      Here’s why it was named Uranus:
      The order of the planets after Mars is Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and, until recently, Pluto.

      We have known about Mars and Jupiter for a long time, and Saturn was discovered in 1610. It was called Saturn because in Roman mythology, Saturn is the father of Jupiter.
      Uranus was discovered in 1781, and was named after the father of Saturn, which according to the same mythology, is Uranus.

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