Big moon

[Doggy Styles]

How come we say "the Moon" but not "the Saturn", "the Mars", etc?

I thought moon was a generic term, whereas those others aren't.

We'd say "the planet".

[TimberWolf]

I thought moon was a generic term, whereas those others aren't.

We'd say "the planet".

Maybe we should give the Moon a name then?

[AlfredJPruffock]

Maybe we should give the Moon a name then?

Lunar


Want to know more about the International Year of Astronomy ?

http://www.astronomy2009.org/

[Doggy Styles]

Maybe we should give the Moon a name then?

Roger

[AlfredJPruffock]

questions ...

1) How many Moons does Saturn have ?

2) Are there Rings round Uranus ?


2009 - International Year of Astronomy


http://www.astronomy2009.org/

[TimberWolf]

questions ...

1) How many Moons does Saturn have ?

2) Are there Rings round Uranus ?

I think you'll find that is pronounced Urenous.

[AtW]

I think you'll find that is pronounced Urenous.

CyberUranus

[Mich the Tester]

1) How many Moons does Saturn have ?

At least 60. Possibly more.

2) Are there Rings round Uranus ?

Yes.

Not that I'm an expert. I do some amateur astronomy out of interest, but my field is really geology.

[AlfredJPruffock]

1) How many Moons does Saturn have ?

At least 60. Possibly more.

2) Are there Rings round Uranus ?

Yes.

Not that I'm an expert. I do some amateur astronomy out of interest, but my field is really geology.

Well done - appox 50 of Saturns Moons have been named but there are at least 60 plus - when I started learning about Astronomy they had discovered seven.

As for Uranus - Are there Rings round Uranus was a Partick Moore Sky at Night episode - somtime in the 70s - the entendre was not lost on me !


The planet Uranus has a system of rings intermediate in complexity between the more extensive set around Saturn and the simpler systems around Jupiter and Neptune.

The rings of Uranus were discovered on March 10, 1977 by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Douglas J. Mink.

More than 200 years ago, William Herschel also reported observing rings.

However modern astronomers are skeptical that he could actually have noticed them, as they are very dark and faint.

Two additional rings were discovered in 1986 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, and two outer rings were found in 2003–2005 by the Hubble Space Telescope.

[Mich the Tester]

The rings of Uranus were discovered on March 10, 1977 by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Douglas J. Mink.

This is what makes astronomy so fascinating; even such things as close by as Uranus's rings were only discovered about 30 years ago. There's so much to discover and it's the one science where amateurs can still play a meaningful role.

Hubble's on it's way out in 5 years or so. Perhaps instead of blowing money on badly run banks, crap car manufacturers and stupid ID databases, some serious investment could be made into a real replacement for Hubble, like a large space array to include the visible wavelengths. At least it would be interesting and inspiring, and a step further to understanding the universe.