Fun Solar System Stuff

My source of information on this page is:
http://www.seds.org/billa/tnp/sol.html

The Sun is personified in many mythologies: the Greeks called it Helios and the Romans called it Sol.

In Roman mythology Mercury is the god of commerce, travel and thievery, the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes, the messenger of the Gods. The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky.

Venus (Greek: Aphrodite; Babylonian: Ishtar) is the goddess of love and beauty. The planet is so named probably because it is the brightest of the planets known to the ancients. (With a few exceptions, the surface features on Venus are named for female figures.)

Earth is the only planet whose English name does not derive from Greek/Roman mythology. The name derives from Old English and Germanic. There are, of course, hundreds of other names for the planet in other languages. In Roman Mythology, the goddess of the Earth was Tellus - the fertile soil. (Greek: Gaia, terra mater - Mother Earth).

Mars (Greek: Ares) is the god of War. The planet probably got this name due to its red color; Mars is sometimes referred to as the Red Planet. (An interesting side note: the Roman god Mars was a god of agriculture before becoming associated with the Greek Ares.) The name of the month March derives from Mars.

Mars has 2 moons: Phobos and Deimos

In Greek mythology, Phobos and Deimos are sons of Ares (Mars) and Aphrodite (Venus). "phobos" is Greek for "fear" (the root of "phobia") and "deimos" is Greek for "panic".

Jupiter (a.k.a. Jove; Greek Zeus) was the King of the Gods, the ruler of Olympus and the patron of the Roman state. Zeus was the son of Cronus (Saturn).

Jupiter has lots of moons.

The 4 Galilean Satellites are:

Io was a maiden who was loved by Zeus (Jupiter) and transformed into a heifer in a vain attempt to hide her from the jealous Hera.

Europa was a Phoenician princess abducted to Crete by Zeus, who had assumed the form of a white bull, and by him the mother of Minos.

Ganymede was a Trojan boy of great beauty whom Zeus carried away to be cup bearer to the gods.

Callisto was a nymph, beloved of Zeus and hated by Hera. Hera changed her into a bear and Zeus then placed her in the sky as the constellation Ursa Major.

In Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture. The associated Greek god, Cronus, was the son of Uranus and Gaia and the father of Zeus (Jupiter). Saturn is the root of the English word "Saturday."

Saturn has way too many moons.

The 7 largest are:

In Greek mythology the Titans were a family of giants, the children of Uranus and Gaia, who sought to rule the heavens but were overthrown and supplanted by the family of Zeus.

In Greek mythology Enceladus was a Titan who was defeated in battle and buried under Mount Etna by Athena.

In Greek mythology Tethys was a Titaness and sea goddess who was both sister and wife of Oceanus.

In Greek mythology Dione was the mother of Aphrodite (Venus) by Zeus (Jupiter).

In Greek mythology Rhea was the sister and wife of Cronus (Saturn) and the mother of Demeter, Hades (Pluto), Hera, Hestia, Poseidon (Neptune), and Zeus (Jupiter).

In Greek mythology Iapetus was a Titan, the son of Uranus, the father of Prometheus and Atlas and an ancestor of the human race.

Mimas was one of the Titans slain by Hercules.

Uranus is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god. Uranus was the son and mate of Gaia and the father of Cronus (Saturn) and of the Cyclopes and Titans (predecessors of the Olympian gods).

Uranus has a lot of moons.

The 5 largest moons are:

Titania is the Queen of the Fairies and wife of Oberon in Shakespeare's Midsummer-Night's Dream.

Oberon is the King of the Fairies and husband of Titania in Shakespeare's Midsummer-Night's Dream.

Ariel is a mischievous airy spirit in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Umbriel is a character in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock.

Miranda is a daughter of the magician Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

In Roman mythology Neptune (Greek: Poseidon) was the god of the Sea.

Neptune has a bunch of moons.

The two largest moons are:

In Greek mythology, Triton is a god of the sea, the son of Poseidon (Neptune); usually portrayed as having the head and trunk of a man and the tail of a fish.

Proteus was a sea god who could change his shape at will.

In Roman mythology, Pluto (Greek: Hades) is the god of the underworld.

Pluto has 1 moon:

Charon is named for the mythological figure who ferried the dead across the River Acheron into Hades (the underworld).