How is Uranus originally pronounced?

How is Uranus originally pronounced?

The standard way to pronounce Uranus among astronomers is to put the emphasis on the first syllable “ur” and then say the second part “unus”. This is the standard literary pronunciation. The more common way people have pronounced it is u-ra-nus, with the “ra” sounded like “ray”.

Why do they say Uranus is on its side?

Uranus has the largest tilt of any planet in our Solar System and it spins on its side. This means that one of Uranus’ poles is often pointed towards the Sun, giving Uranus very long seasons. The rings of Uranus are also sideways compared to the rings of other planets.

Did they change Uranus name?

Officially, though, Uranus was known as Georgium Sidus for nearly 70 years until 1850, when Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO) finally changed the name to Uranus.

What is the new name of Uranus?

While the rest of the world called the new planet Uranus, Georgium Sidus remained the official name in England until the 1850s. While Uranus was the first big naming controversy in astronomy, it wasn’t the last. As new planetary bodies were discovered they were typically given Greek or Latin names.

Who named Uranus and what does it mean?

Ultimately, German astronomer Johann Elert Bode (whose observations helped to establish the new object as a planet) named Uranus after an ancient Greek god of the sky. Bode argued that as Saturn was the father of Jupiter, the new planet should be named for the father of Saturn.

Why is Uranus rotation different?

Unlike the other planets of the solar system, Uranus is tilted so far that it essentially orbits the sun on its side, with the axis of its spin nearly pointing at the star. This unusual orientation might be due to a collision with a planet-size body, or several small bodies, soon after it was formed.

How has Uranus changed over time?

It turns out that Uranus is so weird because of a massive collision billions of years ago. A new study confirms that this collision with a huge object — which was approximately twice the size of Earth — could have led to the planet’s extreme tilt and other odd attributes.

What is the correct way to pronounce Uranus?

You could even get away with trying a more traditional Greek pronunciation (despite most of the planets taking their names from figures in Roman mythology, Uranus was the Greek god personification of the sky) and call it something like “OOH-ran-ohs” or even “er-AH-nuss.”

Why did we change the name of our planet Uranus?

The wider population (us dummies) took little heed of the dictionary change until the planet started hitting the news again once the space program picked up. As one commenter here describes it: “Uranus was changed to ‘URINE-us’ in 1986 (? — maybe ’85) when one of the space probes was preparing to do its fly-by.

Who was Uranus in Greek mythology?

Uranus was considered one of the most basic gods. He was married to the Earth mother Gaia (and, quite interestingly, he was also her son which really IS kind of racy!). They had children who became the first Titans and were ancestors of all the other Greek gods who followed.

Is it pronounced ū·rā′·nəs or you-Ray-Nuss?

It turns out that both pronunciations that people use are correct. The classic, potty-mouth version (specifically ū·rā′·nəs, or you-RAY-nuss) places the emphasis on the long “A” sound. That’s the one that leads to raised eyebrows, giggling and outright laughter.