"Sedna"?!

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

So, the next mythological figure waiting in line to have a planet named after him/herself was...Sedna? Not, by any means. that it had to be a Roman god, like the other planets, but couldn't they come up with something better than Sedna? Seriously, the GQ here is: who or what is Sedna? Whence the name?

[friedo]

Sedna is the Inuit goddess of the sea.

[Rube E. Tewesday]

Scary Inuit sea goddess. Hadn't thought about her in years, but a good choice for something strange, way out in the cold and dark.

[wolf_meister]

Hey "Sedna" is not so bad when you consider the planet ............ "Uranus".

I remember Isaac Asimov wrote an essay about that planet but first he had to write a few paragraphs about how badly-named it was.
For one thing, it was named after a god almost no one even knew.
Second the pronunciation of it was embarassing. As he said most people pronounce it as if they were saying "your anus". Others he said try the nicer-sounding pronunciation with the stress on the first syllable. Then, he said it sounds like "urinous" which means having the characteristics of ........ urine.
I think Isacc Asimov made a good point.
Mr Asimov also thought that elements (especially the Rare Earths) were poorly named. Names such as Dysprosium, Yttrium, Ytterbium, etc were derived form the locations in which they were discovered (mostly Scandinavia).
His point being that elements and planets are extremely limited in number and should be given much more thought when it comes tme to give them names.

[lexi]

That is my cats name - inuit goddess/demon.

[Gyrate]

Hasn't anyone read "The Barsoom Project"?

[friedo]

Hey "Sedna" is not so bad when you consider the planet ............ "Uranus".

I remember Isaac Asimov wrote an essay about that planet but first he had to write a few paragraphs about how badly-named it was.


Asimov was obsessed with badly named things. In the somewhat out-of-date Atom, he spends about ten pages bitching about how positron should really be positon, without the 'r'.

[Excalibre]

All I know is that the planets are named after Roman gods, aside from the earth. I'm all for Inuit sea-godesses, don't get me wrong, but why the heck can't people just follow the durn tradition and scrape up some insignificant Roman god for the purpose? It's not like we're gonna run out. Cheez-it! Inuits are probably perfectly nice people, but must we apply affirmative action to heavenly bodies? Shoot, I'm a pretty politically correct liberal. This is friggin' irritating.

[wolf_meister]

Friedo
Thanks for that information. I didn't know Isaac Azimov had such an obsession concerning the naming of everything.

[DevilDan]

I happen to think Sedna is a brilliant choice. The story is so delightfully nighmarish and gory. It's a damned good god origin tale, pretty unique (thought not unlike some other deification myths of the Native Americans).

As a mythology buff, I want to ask what people's suggestions are for a Greco-Roman deity as an alternative to Sedna. As far as Asimov and the Greek-Roman supporters go, I vote for "Nemesis."

Or, nominate some other figure from a different mythological tradition. I nominate "Hel", the Norse ruler of the icy underworld. (And we still keep the gender "affirmative naming action," since Hel is a she.)

[Northern Piper]

I think Arthur C. Clarke proposed "Persephone" as the name for the next planet out from Pluto, since she was Pluto's wife.

[bup]

I'd have pushed for Vulcan, both because he's a Roman god, and I'm originally from Birmingham, Alabama, where he (usually) looks upon, and, well, you know...Spock.

[Little Nemo]

Why stick with the classical mythology? Let's go with some contemporary mythology and name it Yoda or Xena or Wolverine.

[c42]

I still like Rupert...


teehee

[LivingInThePast]

Sedna? Isn't that Andes spelled backwards?

:D

[NoClueBoy]

Whip me, beat me, call me Sedna

[yabob]

Greek, Norse, Hindu pantheons ... OK. But this one? I dunno, I just can't get inuit.

[friedo]

Greek, Norse, Hindu pantheons ... OK. But this one? I dunno, I just can't get inuit.

You're going to pay for that one.

:D

[DanBlather]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Astronomers have discovered the coldest and
most distant object ever found in the solar system, a dark and frigid world I think they should call it "Martha".

[owlofcreamcheese]

it should be 'nox' roman god of the night. its perfect, a planet in eternal night.

[dtilque]

Sedna? Isn't that Andes spelled backwards?

:D
Damn it Living, I was going to say that. In fact, that was one of my first thoughts on seeing the name.

Some of those suggested above won't fly. Vulcan and Nemesis are associated with two non-existing but well-known planets. And I don't mean anything to do with Star Trek, either.

Sometime in the 19th century, someone claimed to have seen a planet orbiting inside of Mercury. They named it Vulcan. Lots of effort was made by others to verify it, but to no avail. It's pretty much certain it doesn't exist.

Nemesis is supposedly a large brown dwarf in a humongously large orbit that takes it into the Oort Cloud every 26 million years. There it would disturb some comets so they'd come zipping into the inner Solar System and crash into the Earth and cause an extinction event. The only evidence for Nemesis was a supposed periodicity of the said events. It's generally agreed among astronomers that the statistical analysis that showed the periodicity is flawed.

[eburacum45]

Other Kuiper Belt objects which have already been named include Varuna, after a Hindu god; Ixion, a greek mythological figure, and Quaoar, a name from North American Indian mythology;
it is encouraging that these objects are being given names from a wide range of sources.

[Sublight]

By the way, just how the heck do you pronounce "Kuiper"? Does it rhyme with 'sweeper', 'swiper' or what?

[Dragon Phoenix]

As it is a typically Dutch name, the Dutch pronounciation would probably be appropriate. Which unfortunately does not have an English equivalent I can think of. If you know French, the Dutch ui sound is rather similar to the French vocals in oeil (eye).

[The Griffin]

kooeeper?

[CalMeacham]

Hey "Sedna" is not so bad when you consider the planet ............ "Uranus".


Hey -- don't make fun of "Uranus". It was almost named "George" (True!!!)



Uranus was the first planet to be discovered since classical times. Herschel, who discovered it, wanted to curry favor (brown-nose) with the British king, so he suggested naming it "Georgius Sideris". Cooler and wiser heads prevailed, and they kept up the mythological connections.


Of course, that didn't stop Percival Lowell from sneakily making the symbol for the planet "Pluto" (and the first two letters of its name) his own initials.

[BwanaBob]

Not to nitpick but--

Uranus was a Greek god, not Roman, and has no Roman counterpart. (He's not Atlas!) See Pantheon (http://www.pantheon.org/areas/genealogy/principal_greek.html) for more details.

Also, practically every other name in Roman mythology has been used up in naming asteroids. They're going to use other cultures' mythologies out of necessity.

[naita]

Mr Asimov also thought that elements (especially the Rare Earths) were poorly named. Names such as Dysprosium, Yttrium, Ytterbium, etc were derived form the locations in which they were discovered (mostly Scandinavia).
OT, but the etymology of Dysprosium is that it's new latin based on the greek dysprositos hard to get at.
And Terbium, Erbium, Ytterbium and Yttrium aren't named after the locations in which they were discovered. They're all named after the town Ytterby in Southern Sweden. :D

[hammerbach]

...Of course, that didn't stop Percival Lowell from sneakily making the symbol for the planet "Pluto" (and the first two letters of its name) his own initials.

Lowell was dead when that planet was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh.
That said, I'm sure it was not coincidental.

[Bakhesh]

I was really hoping for Goofy.

[scr4]

By the way, just how the heck do you pronounce "Kuiper"? Does it rhyme with 'sweeper', 'swiper' or what?
It rhymes with viper and wiper. At least that's how I say it.

[Floater]

Names such as Dysprosium, Yttrium, Ytterbium, etc were derived form the locations in which they were discovered (mostly Scandinavia).

Dysprosium is derived from Greek dysprositos, hard to get at. Yttrium, Ytterbium and Erbium were named after a village called Ytterby outside Stockholm, Sweden, were they were first discovered together with Holmium, which is named after Stockholm.

[NoClueBoy]

It rhymes with viper and wiper. At least that's how I say it.


That's how it was pronounced on Star Date and Star Hustler, too. Back when they were actually on....

[Olentzero]

Hey -- don't make fun of "Uranus". It was almost named "George" (True!!!)Not almost, it was. The name Uranus didn't come into common usage until 1850, some 69 years following its discovery.

I kinda like the fact that Uranus had two names for a while - both Georgum Sidus and the name of its discoverer. Yes, for several decades our fine solar system had Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn... and Herschel. Kinda makes me see a dramatic camera shot panning across these heroic and majestic statues of the gods... only to pan down to a weedy little twerp in Coke-bottle glasses and a short-sleeved oxford shirt.

[rsa]

All I know is that the planets are named after Roman gods, aside from the earth. I'm all for Inuit sea-godesses, don't get me wrong, but why the heck can't people just follow the durn tradition and scrape up some insignificant Roman god for the purpose?
Sedna is being described as a provisional name, so if a concensus is reached that it should be considered a planet it could still be named after a Roman god.

To me it shouldn't be a planet. It seems a lot more like a comet. The only reason it's not is that its orbit doesn't cross the orbits of the major planets. If it were up to me, I'd demote Pluto and have eight planets and Pluto and Sedna would be planetoids. I think Gustav Holst had it right all along.

[Marley23]

I think Arthur C. Clarke proposed "Persephone" as the name for the next planet out from Pluto, since she was Pluto's wife.
I think a lot of people on this board would have found that appropriate right about now.

[Grey]

To me it shouldn't be a planet. It seems a lot more like a comet. The only reason it's not is that its orbit doesn't cross the orbits of the major planets. A 2000km diamter comet? Once it gets that big, its something else and that I guess is the whole problem. :)

[rsa]

Sure, haven't you heard of the elusive "Mother of all Comets"? ;)

Seriously, I think "planetoid" is as good a name as any.

[CaptainGeordie]

I seem to remember that Will Hay, a well-known 1930s British film star and comedy actor was an amateur astronomer and made some interesting discovery in space in the early 30s? Anyone have any more information?

[Northern Piper]

I think Arthur C. Clarke proposed "Persephone" as the name for the next planet out from Pluto, since she was Pluto's wife.Although now that I think about it some more, Clarke used the wrong name, since Persephone is the Greek name. Her Roman equivalent was Prosperina (http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/eproserp.htm).

[Gyrate]

Yttrium, Ytterbium and Erbium were named after a village called Ytterby outside Stockholm, Sweden, were they were first discovered together with Holmium, which is named after Stockholm.I personally like Lore Sjoberg's commentary (http://www.bookofratings.com/elements.html) on the naming of these elements:All four of these rare earth metals are named after the same town in Sweden, so they have to share an entry. You want your element to get individual attention, put some work into the name, dammit. I could understand if all the good names were taken, but in a world where "kaboomium," "explodium," and "pornographium" still do not exist, there's just no excuse. I would so love to see Kaboomium on the periodic table.

[vibrotronica]

By the way, just how the heck do you pronounce "Kuiper"? Does it rhyme with 'sweeper', 'swiper' or what?

It's "ky-por"
cite (http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0828325.html)

[scotandrsn]

I think the use of the name "Sedna" is reminiscent of the ethnocentrism of England when moons were discovered around Uranus/George. Rather that bearing the names of Greco-Roman gods and mythological figures, they bear the names of those from English literature, heavy on Shakespeare's supernatural figures. More recently, British research into a particular asteroid that shares a complex orbit linked to Earth's has been dubbed "Cruithne", after a Welsh goddess.

Since America discovered Sedna, America draws from Inuit (read: native American) culture's mythology to name it. If you prefer, we could name it after the things that mainstream worship and read about. How's this for a list of planet names?


Money
God
Wal-Mart
Beer
Tom Sawyer
Daniel Boone
Stanley Kowalski
Jesus
The Stranger
Pamela Anderson's Left Breast

[wolf_meister]

Yes, Sedna is just a tentative name. I thought it was a good name but I see a problem with it.

COSTELLO: I hear they discovered a new planet.
ABBOTT: Yes, it's Sedna.
COSTELLO: They named a planet Edna?
ABBOTT: No it's not Edna - it's Sedna.
COSTELLO: That's what I said !!
ABBOT: No you didn't !!
etc

[Agent Cooper]

"america discovered it" i love it. i am half surprised there wasn't an auction...


how about the planet Pepsi?

[tomndebb]

I seem to remember that Will Hay, a well-known 1930s British film star and comedy actor was an amateur astronomer and made some interesting discovery in space in the early 30s? Anyone have any more information?
Will this do? (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/trevor.buckingham/saturn.htm)

[DevilDan]

I think they should call it "Martha".

Hillary, definitely Hillary.

Frankly, I couldn't care if someone makes the sensible choice and knocks Pluto off the official planet roster along with Sedna.

Don't forget everyone, the tradition is Roman names, not Greek. Not that I'm a stickler. I haven't seen anyone coming up with a cooler suggestion than Hel.

[Jack Sarang]

Since America discovered Sedna, America draws from Inuit (read: native American) culture's mythology to name it.

Slight nitpick, The Inuit are what most Americans still (incorrectly) refer to as Eskimos. The majority of whom live in Canada. Canada even has a territory bearing an Inuit name -- Nunavut. Native American tribes such as Iroquois, Mohawk, Blackfoot etc are not Inuit.

[dtilque]

That story about the Eskimo goddess is bogus. It turns out that Sedna is a word in Old Palomarese meaning "Your telescope, you fool"...

[Moo the Magic Cow]

Three words: Horrendous Space Kablooie.

[MonkeyMensch]

I think Arthur C. Clarke proposed "Persephone" as the name for the next planet out from Pluto, since she was Pluto's wife.

The things you learn on the SDMB. I always knew Mickey and Donald were married, but Pluto! The bitch...