Ringed Uranus with its moons
December 31, 2002 9:13 PM   Subscribe

Ringed Uranus with its moons : I love it that one moon is named Puck. ( courtesy Robot Wisdom)
posted by y2karl (18 comments total)
 
Even better.
posted by y2karl at 9:15 PM on December 31, 2002


Naturally Puck the court jester of Titania and Oberon the king and queen of faeries in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Or named after the disc shaped Mcguffin used in the game of ice hockey, you decide.
posted by mikojava at 9:17 PM on December 31, 2002


Puck, Puck, Puck, Puck, Puck!
posted by y2karl at 9:21 PM on December 31, 2002


Hockeystick, Hockeystick, Hockeystick, Hockeystick, Hockeystick!
posted by jonmc at 9:22 PM on December 31, 2002


I've always been disappointed that there isn't something spectacularly different about Puck - some kind of wildly eccentric orbit, or a weird composition, or something. Puck's my favorite character out of all Shakespeare, and I just wouldn't want Robin Goodfellow's namesake to be boring, you know?

Yes, I am a total nerd for caring about the names of minor hunks of rock and/or ice 2.5 billion miles away.
posted by Chanther at 9:31 PM on December 31, 2002


I never knew Uranus had rings. Unutterably cool. Thanks!

[insert obligatory 'Uranus' scatological pun, just to get the thread over it]
posted by Slithy_Tove at 9:43 PM on December 31, 2002


You're a fool Chanther. Mercutio is the best character in all Shakespeare.

Back on the topic of moons though, had we worked through the entire Roman pantheon by the time we discovered Uranus' various moons or what? It's a little like driving along and passing Maple St, Elm St, Oak St. only to come upon 10th Avenue or something. It just doesn't fit.
posted by willnot at 9:50 PM on December 31, 2002


From one of the linked stories a breakdown of how all the planets and their satellites got their names. Uranus's moons still don't seem to fit the pattern though. They aren't even internally consistent. Who is this Pope guy? It's not like Shakespeare had run out of characters or anything.
posted by willnot at 10:00 PM on December 31, 2002


Congratulations for the first FPP of the year!
posted by Quixoticlife at 10:27 PM on December 31, 2002


Mercutio is the best character in all Shakespeare.

Ummm.. No. How many comics does Mercutio appear in?
posted by slipperywhenwet at 10:40 PM on December 31, 2002


When it comes to old Will, Falstaff's the man.
posted by MAYORBOB at 10:45 PM on December 31, 2002


Congratulations for the first FPP of the year!

Actually, the last post of last year. But Happy New Year anyway.
posted by y2karl at 1:34 AM on January 1, 2003


Naturally Puck the court jester of Titania and Oberon the king and queen of faeries in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Or named after the disc shaped Mcguffin used in the game of ice hockey, you decide.

You mean it's not named after this guy?

*sobs*
posted by Vidiot at 5:09 AM on January 1, 2003


These rings... they wobble?
posted by y2karl at 9:43 AM on January 1, 2003




[insert obligatory 'Uranus' scatological pun, just to get the thread over it]

Rings around Uranus? Must be Klingons.
posted by Wet Spot at 10:31 AM on January 1, 2003


Why are Uranus's moons named after Shakespearean characters?. Short answer: Because the discoverers of Uranus and some of its moons started it that way. Yes, even by the 19th century, the names of classical gods and other figures were running thin, but then, nomenclature is a tool and as such thematic choices are helpful. Today, with smaller bodies such as the thousands of asteroids and trans-neptunian objects, we get astronomers' dead relatives, pets, TV characters, and even stranger. The discoverer pretty much gets to choose, although his name choice will be voted on.

The rings of the Uranus were discovered by occultation in 1977; the rings of Jupiter by Voyager 1 in 1979; and those of Neptune were confirmed by Voyager 2 in 1989. Although their existence had been hypothesized, the example of Saturn was widely thought to be singular even in the wider universe of planetary systems presumed at distant stars -- until we found that 100% of the gas giants in our solar system had rings. And oh how complex they have revealed themselves to be.
posted by dhartung at 12:46 PM on January 1, 2003


Another great thread from y2karl. Happy y2k03 to karl and everyone! :)
posted by Lynsey at 1:13 PM on January 1, 2003


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