I thought for a long time about where to start our wonderful journey through the pages of the history of the most ancient science - astronomy. And I decided: first of all, I will tell you when and how people gave the heavenly bodies the names we are used to today.

From time immemorial, the sky has attracted the attention of people. The sun that gives life to people, animals and plants, the mysterious and constantly changing appearance of the Moon, the strange movements among the stars of the "wandering lights" - the planets, the appearance of the terrifying "tailed stars" - comets, and, finally, the majestic and mysterious beauty of the starry sky - all this aroused in our distant ancestors curiosity and delight, fear and desire to know the unknown, as well as the desire to connect what is happening in heaven with what is happening in everyday life.

People were motivated to engage in the science of the Universe for various reasons. Perhaps the most important of them were still three. Firstly, observations of celestial bodies helped people solve a number of important problems. practical tasks, for example, to determine the most favorable dates for the start of sowing and harvesting, to navigate by the Sun and stars, etc. Secondly, people have long wanted to know what the heavenly body is and what place we occupy in the Universe. Thirdly, astrologers could not do without astronomical observations, who claimed that heavenly bodies("star deities") govern all earthly affairs. For millennia, astronomy and astrology have been very closely linked. This is evidenced, in particular, by the data obtained by archaeologists. On stone and clay tablets that have come down to us from the ancient Sumerians (they lived in Mesopotamia in the 5th-3rd millennium BC), texts of astronomical and astrological content were found. Yes and in more later times many great astronomers studied astrology. For example, Claudius Ptolemy (100-165 years) is still considered by astrologers to be one of the founders of "scientific astrology", although modern astronomers treat astrology not as a science, but as a "star religion".

However, both astronomers and astrologers needed first of all to come up with names for at least the most important celestial bodies. Many people today are very interested in the question of who and when gave them names. There is even an anecdote among astronomers about how, after one of the lectures on the Universe, one of the listeners confessed to the lecturer: “You spoke very interestingly about the Moon and planets, the Sun and stars, galaxies and the Universe, but I still did not understand how scientists managed to find out the names of the planets and stars ... "In the fairy tales I invented for children ("Star Tales", "Fairytale Adventures of the Little Astronomer", etc.), the luminaries, getting to know the children - the heroes of these fairy tales, simply tell them their names, like as is customary with humans. But in fact, everything was not so simple, and you will now learn something about it.

It is clear to everyone that the problem of naming the luminary arose only after people learned about this luminary. For example, neither Copernicus, nor Kepler, nor Newton knew anything about planets that are farther from the Sun than Saturn. Therefore, at that time it was not required to give names to these planets. Another thing is the luminaries known to people since antiquity and called the planets, which then included the Sun, the Moon, as well as Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn visible to the naked eye. They were the "planetary gods" through whom, according to astrologers, our life is controlled by the "God of the cosmos."

The most important "planetary god" was considered, of course, The sun, whose name is in the languages ​​of all peoples of the world. The Slavic word "Sun" comes from the Indo-European word meaning "shine". The suffixes -n- and -ts- give this word a barely perceptible affectionate meaning (compare: "window" - "window"), although, affectionately referring to the daylight, we usually say "Sun". According to philologists, the mentioned suffixes emphasized the special respect of the ancient Slavs for the Sun, their desire to appease the powerful god of the daytime sky. The worship of the Sun, or the cult of the Sun, existed among many peoples. The daytime star gave the name to such gods as Helios (Ancient Greece), Ra ( Ancient Egypt) and etc.

To the oldest famous people the luminaries, of course, also apply Moon- the brightest light in the night sky. The meaning of its name is "luminous", "brilliant". True, unlike the Sun, the night beauty has two names - "Moon" and "Month". The second name, as you know, is associated with a change in the appearance of the moon (lunar phases) that occurs throughout the month. The root of the word "month" is related to the words "measure", "to measure", and they measured time with the help of the Moon, because the month became one twelfth of the year. The suffix -yats- is also, perhaps, not in vain added to the root -mes- (again, in order to somehow win over, appease the night luminary).

In astronomy natural satellite The earth has only one name - the moon. In honor of the moon, the ancient Greeks named one of their goddesses Selene.

Ancient Rome gave us the names of such planets as Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Before the Romans, the names of these planets were given by other peoples, such as the ancient Greeks, and before them by the Babylonians. The names of the planets were not only "divine" (that is, given in honor of the gods), but also semantic: Mercury - "sparkling", Venus - "carrying the morning" (astronomers of Ancient Greece established that the bright evening and morning "star" are one and the same the same luminary), Mars - "fiery", Jupiter - "radiant", Saturn - "radiant".

What gods are the planets named after? The ancient Romans Mercury(from the word "goods", "trade") was the god of trade, among the Greeks it is Hermes - the messenger of the gods, one of the most powerful sons of Zeus himself. Until now, he is depicted in a wide-brimmed traveler's hat, magical winged sandals that allow him to move very quickly, and with a magical golden rod that gives him extraordinary power over the souls of people. The Rod of Hermes (caduceus) is made in the form of a cross, which is wrapped around by two snakes (a symbol of time gathered into eternity). The vertical of the cross, as it were, connects "heaven" and "underworld", and the horizontal - "the image of the earthly path that runs between the two cosmic poles." Gradually, from the mythological image of Hermes, an ancient religious and philosophical doctrine (hermeticism) grew up, which contains the innermost secrets of nature and man, supposedly sent to us by the Universal Mind that created the world...

Venus- Roman goddess of gardens Greek mythology This is Aphrodite - the goddess of love and beauty, one of the daughters of Zeus). Remember that after the Sun and the Moon, the most attractive luminary in the sky is Venus.

Red Planet - Mars- bears the name of the Roman god of war (the Greek god of war - Ares).

Not knowing that Jupiter- the largest planet in the solar system, the ancients successfully named it in honor of their most important god. Among the Romans, Jupiter is the god of the sky, the king of the gods (among the Greeks, Zeus is the god of the gods).

So, the oldest "planets" seven. Seven was especially revered. After all, there are not only seven planets, but also seven bucket stars Ursa Major- the main constellation of our sky, seven colors of the rainbow (spectrum), seven ancient "wonders of the world", seven notes in music, each phase of the moon lasts seven days, seven days of the week, the number of many fairytale heroes and sayings ("Seven brothers", "Seven nannies have a child without an eye", "Seven troubles - one answer", "One with a bipod - seven with a spoon"), etc.

Astrologers compared each of the planets not only with deities and certain days of the week, but also with animals, birds, metals, precious stones, color, professions, vices and virtues, smells, taste, etc. And, of course, from relative position"planets" and zodiac constellations (more precisely, signs of the zodiac), in which they were at one time or another, depend, according to astrologers, and the fate of a born person, and the outcome of the war, and the fate of the whole country ... It's a pity that it is difficult read somewhere or find out what all this cares about far and near solid and gaseous planetary balls ...

In fact, the ancients knew not seven, but only five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn). The other four planets ( Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and even earth) was discovered much later. About how and when this happened, you will soon find out.

And now I would like to talk about the symbols of the main bodies of the solar system. Surely the most ancient (but understandable to each of us) are the signs of the Sun and the Moon. They don't need explanation. The remaining signs began to be used around the 9th century. They are interpreted differently. For example, it is believed that the sign of Mercury depicts the rod of this god. And the sign of Venus is like a hand mirror in which the beauty admires her reflection. For some reason, the Earth has the same "mirror" turned upside down by 180°. The sign of Mars resembles a spear shielded by a shield. The Greek name corresponding to the Roman "Jupiter" is Zeus (Zeus), and the letter Z is similar to the sign of Jupiter. Since Saturn (Kronos) symbolizes time, then, as the famous French popularizer of astronomy C. Flammarion wrote, the sign of this planet can be perceived as an image of the "spit of time". The first letter of the name of Herschel, who discovered Uranus, can probably be reminded of the sign of this planet (a circle with the letter H). There is no doubt that the trident of the god of the seas is the sign of Neptune, and the first (Latin) letters of the name and surname of Percival Lovell, the famous astronomer, are the sign of Pluto.

The names of the planets in the solar system came to us from Roman and Greek mythology. With the exception of Earth, all the planets in the solar system are named after ancient gods. The five planets visible to the naked eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) have been observed by humans throughout human history, and in different cultures they were called differently. Today's names of these 5 planets came to us from Roman culture. The Romans named these planets based on their movement and appearance.

Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, began to be observed as early as the 14th century BC. Various cultures in different periods time gave various names to this planet. The planet was originally known as Ninuri, and later became known as Naboo. In ancient Greece, at different times, the planet was called Stilbon, Hermaon and Apollo. The name by which we know the planet today came from the Romans, and is due to the fact that Mercury moves faster than other planets across the sky. Mercury is the fleet-footed Roman god of commerce.

Venus, being the brightest planet in the sky, got its name in honor of the Roman goddess of love and beauty. For your information, this is the only planet in the solar system that was named after a female deity.

Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, is named after the ancient Roman god of war. However, not everyone knows that initially Mars was the god of fertility, and only later became personified with the Greek god of war Ares.

Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system, got its name in honor of the god of agriculture, very revered among the Romans. According to legend, this god taught people to build houses, grow plants and cultivate the land.

Jupiter, like other planets, had many names in different cultures: "Mulu-babbar" in Mesopotamian culture, "Sui-Sin" in Chinese, "Star of Zeus" in Greek. The largest planet in the solar system received its final name in honor of the supreme god Jupiter, the god of sky and light.

All these Roman names were adopted in European languages and culture, and subsequently became the standards in science. The remaining three planets: Uranus, Neptune and now dwarf planet Pluto, due to its remoteness from the Earth, were discovered much later, so the names were no longer given to them by the Romans.

When Uranus and Neptune were discovered, and several names for each planet were considered and used until one became the standard. William Herschel, who discovered Uranus, wanted to name it after King George III. Other astronomers called her "Herschel" in honor of the discoverer. Astronomer Johann Bode suggested that it would be more appropriate to use the mythological name Uranus, which would fit harmoniously with the five planets named in antiquity. However, despite the suggestion, the name Uranus was not widely used until 1850.

The existence of the planet Neptune was predicted by two astronomers (John Coach Adams and Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier). When the planet was discovered using telescopes, a dispute arose over who should name the planet. Le Verrier wanted to name the planet after himself. However, the name Neptune was proposed and became the standard used by scientists.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Many names have been proposed, including: Lowell, Atlas, Artemis, Perseus, Wulan, Tanatala, Idana, Kronos, Zimal, and Minerva (proposed New York Times). The name Pluto was suggested by 11-year-old Venetia Burney of Oxford, England, and then recommended to astronomers by observatory staff. Pluto won, perhaps because the name after the god of the underworld is a good fit for the most distant planet.

One of Pluto's moons, which was discovered in 1978, was named by James Christie, who discovered it. James originally wanted to name it after his wife, Charlene, but nomenclature rules in astronomy prevented him from doing so. Looking for another name, he came across the Greek mythological character Charon, whose name included the first part of his wife's name (in English). It was also a very appropriate name, as Charon transported people to the underworld, which went well with the name of the planet, Pluto.

Who is now responsible for the names of the new planets? Since the organization of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1919, it has been responsible for the names of all celestial objects. When an astronomer discovers a new object, he can submit an application to the IAU, and the IAU will in turn confirm it or offer its name.

Russian		Espanol		Arançais	Italiano		中文, 汉语 / 官話 (Mandarin*)
The sun							Taiyeung / Taiyang
Earth
Moon
Mercury							Suising / Shuixing
Venus							Gumsing / Jingxing
Mars							Fuosing / Huoxing
Jupiter							Moqsing / Muxing
Saturn							Tousing / Tuxing
Uranus							Tinwongsing / Tianwangxing
Neptune							Huoiwongsing / Haiwangxing
Pluto							Mengwongsing / Mingwangxing

* Words from Mandarin Chinese language stand for (approximately): "Brightest, Water Star, Metal Star, Earth Sphere (Earth), Fire Star, Tree Star, Soil Star, Sky King Star, Ocean King Star, Hell King Star."

The modern names of the five planets came to us from ancient Greek and Roman mythology: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have been observed by man throughout history. Even the first peoples in Egypt and Mesopotamia laid down the tradition of naming the heavenly bodies by the name of the deities of their pantheon. The Greeks, giving names to the planets, were also guided by their movement and appearance. And the Romans, after the conquest of Greece, renamed the celestial bodies by analogy with their pantheon.

So, among the Greeks, the first planet of the solar system was called Hermes.- in honor of the fleet-footed god of trade, who was the messenger of Zeus and, with the help of sandals with wings, could move in space with lightning speed. The Romans named her Mercury. Surely, ancient astronomers also took into account the fact that Mercury moves around the celestial sphere faster than other planets.

Venus is named after the goddess of love and beauty.- she was the brightest body in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, for which she was also called the morning and evening dawn. It is the only planet in the system named after a female deity.

The earth is knocked out general order for that reason that until the 16th century it was not considered a planet, as such. Despite the fact that in Greek mythology her patron goddess was Gaia, who symbolized fertility, it was not customary to associate her with the earth under her feet. And the name for our planet was fixed only in 1400.

About Mars, scientists are not entirely unanimous: he was originally considered the god of fertility, and later became associated with the Greek Ares, the deity of war. In both cases, the name was due to the reddish hue of the planet's surface, which matched both the first and second descriptions.

Jupiter got its name in honor of the most important god of the pantheon.(for the Greeks it was Zeus), which symbolized the very sky and light. In Mesopotamian culture, by the way, the planet was called "Mulubabbar", and in Chinese - "Sui-Sin".

The Greeks called Saturn Kronos- in honor of the ancient Greek god of time and the fact that this is the slowest planet in the system. The analogue in Roman mythology was the god Saturn, who also patronized agriculture.

The following planets were discovered much later, but according to tradition they also received the names of the gods of the Roman pantheon.

In 1781, English astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus, who wanted to be named after King George III. The astronomical community, on the other hand, insisted that the planet bear the name of its discoverer. Astronomer Johann Bode suggested calling the new cosmic body Uranus, pointing out the expediency of continuing to use mythological names. Despite this, the name came into wide use only after 1850.

Neptune became the first planet not discovered by observation, but thanks to precise mathematical calculations. Its existence in 1846 was independently proven by two astronomers - D.K. Adams and I. Galle based on the calculations of W. Le Verrier. Initially, the planet was planned to be called Janus, then Neptune, but Le Verrier unexpectedly changed his mind and wished that the new celestial body was named after him. Outside of France, he was not supported.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh., but in 2006 lost the status of a planet in the solar system. It got its name in honor of the god of the underworld (because of its remoteness from the Sun), and it was invented by 11-year-old Venetia Bernie from Oxford at breakfast with her grandfather. Grandpa turned out to be a library worker Oxford University and passed on the granddaughter's proposal to his colleague, Herbert Turner, who telegraphed to an observatory in the United States, where the name was approved. Venice received £5 as a reward from her grandfather.

Since 1919 for the name of all new celestial bodies the International Astronomical Union answers: the astronomer who discovered the object applies there with a statement, and the union decides whether to accept it or propose its own version of the name.

We live in a world in which everything seems so familiar and settled that we never think about why the things around us are named that way. How did the objects around us get their names? And why is our planet called "Earth", and not otherwise?

First, let's find out how names are given now. After all, new astronomers are discovering, biologists are finding new plant species, and entomologists are finding insects. They also need to be given a name. Who is dealing with this issue now? You need to know this in order to find out why the planet was called "Earth".

Toponymy will help

Since our planet belongs to geographical objects, let's turn to the science of toponymy. She is studying geographical names. More precisely, she studies the origin, meaning, development of the toponym. Therefore this amazing science is in close interaction with history, geography and linguistics. Of course, there are situations when the name, for example, of a street, is given just like that, by chance. But in most cases, toponyms have their own history, sometimes going back centuries.

Planets will answer.

When answering the question of why the Earth was called the Earth, one must not forget that our home is He is part of the planets of the solar system, which also have names. Perhaps, by studying their origin, it will be possible to find out why the Earth was called the Earth?

Regarding the most ancient names, scientists and researchers do not have an exact answer to the question of how exactly they arose. At present, there are only numerous hypotheses. Which one is correct, we will never know. As for the name of the planets, the most common version of their origin is as follows: they are named after the ancient Roman gods. Mars - the Red Planet - received the name of the god of war, which cannot be imagined without blood. Mercury - the most "frisky" planet, rotating faster than others around the Sun, owes its name to the lightning-fast messenger of Jupiter.

It's all about the gods

To what deity does the Earth owe its name? Almost every nation had such a goddess. Among the ancient Scandinavians - Yord, among the Celts - Ehte. The Romans called her Tellus, and the Greeks - Gaia. None of these names is similar to the current name of our planet. But, answering the question of why the Earth was called the Earth, let's remember two names: Yord and Tellus. They will still be useful to us.

The voice of science

In fact, the question of the origin of the name of our planet, with which children so love to torment their parents, has been of interest to scientists for a long time. Many versions were put forward and smashed by opponents to smithereens, until a few remained, which began to be considered the most likely.

In astrology, it is customary to use to designate planets. And in this language, the name of our planet is pronounced as Terra("earth, soil"). In turn, this word goes back to the Proto-Indo-European ters in the meaning of "dry; dry". As well as Terra often the name is also used to refer to the Earth Tellus. And we have already met it above - the Romans called our planet that way. Man, as an exclusively terrestrial being, could name the place where he lives, only by analogy with the earth, the soil under his feet. It is also possible to draw analogies with the biblical legends about the creation by God of the earthly firmament and the first man, Adam, from clay. Why is the earth called earth? Because for a man it was the only place habitat.

Apparently, it was on this principle that the name of our planet that exists now appeared. If you take Russian name, then it came from the Proto-Slavic root earth-, which in translation means "low", "bottom". Perhaps this is due to the fact that ancient times people thought the earth was flat.

In English, the name of the Earth sounds like Earth. It takes its origin from two words - erthe and eorthe. And those, in turn, descended from an even more ancient Anglo-Saxon erda(remember how the Scandinavians called the goddess of the Earth?) - "soil" or "soil".

Another version of why the Earth was called the Earth suggests that man could only survive thanks to agriculture. It was after the appearance of this occupation that the human race began to develop successfully.

Why is the earth called the nurse

The Earth is a huge biosphere inhabited by diverse life. And all living things that exist on it are fed at the expense of the Earth. Plants take the necessary trace elements in the soil, insects and small rodents feed on them, which, in turn, serve as food for larger animals. People are engaged in agriculture and grow wheat, rye, rice and other types of plants necessary for life. They raise livestock that eat plant foods.

Life on our planet is a chain of interconnected living organisms that do not die only thanks to the Mother Earth. If a new ice age begins on the planet, the likelihood of which scientists have again started talking after unprecedented cold this winter in many warm countries, then the survival of mankind will be in doubt. Ice-bound land will not be able to produce a crop. Such is the unfavorable forecast.

Planet Mercury

The planet MERCURY has attracted the attention of people since ancient times with its fast visible movement. That is why it was called Mercury. So the Romans called the Greek god Hermes - the messenger of the gods.

In winged sandals on his feet, with a winged helmet on his head and with a rod in his hands, the god Hermes rushed with the speed of thought from the heights of Olympus to the most remote lands of the whole world.

The god Hermes was also considered the patron saint of travelers. On all roads and crossroads, and even in front of the doors of houses in Ancient Greece, stone pillars with the head of Hermes were placed. He was the patron saint of travelers not only during their lifetime, but even after their death. With his rod, he closed people's eyes, and they fell asleep in a deep sleep. After that, he accompanied the souls of the dead to the gloomy underground kingdom of Hades.

Being the patron of trade, the god Hermes helped merchants to get profits and collect wealth. He created letters and numbers, taught people to write, read, count and measure. Therefore, he was also revered as the god of eloquence, and at the same time he was the god of lies, deceit and theft. Hermes was considered an unusually skilled thief, unsurpassed in cunning and dexterity. As a joke, he once stole a rod from his father, the thunderer Zeus, from the god Poseidon he stole his trident, from the god of war Ares - a sword, and from Apollo - a bow and golden arrows.

Wit, cunning and extraordinary ability to steal Hermes showed immediately after his birth. As soon as he was born, his mother Maya swaddled him and left him in the cradle to sleep, and Hermes immediately decided to steal the cows from the herd of Apollo, which grazed in the green valley of Pieria. He got out of the cradle so quietly that even his mother, who was sleeping next to him, did not hear anything. Like a whirlwind, Hermes rushed to Pieria, selected fifteen of the best cows from the herd there and, tying branches to their feet so that the cows covered their tracks when walking, drove the prey to the Peloponnese. By evening, he, along with the cows, was already in Boeotia. There, at the crossroads, he noticed an old man sitting. Hermes suggested that he choose and take the best cow for himself, but on the condition that the old man would not tell anyone that he had seen Hermes leading the cows along the road. The old man was delighted, chose the best cow from the herd and solemnly swore that he would not tell anyone anything. Hermes went on with the herd and soon found himself in a cool forest. Then it occurred to him to check whether the elder would keep his promise. He changed his appearance and, taking a few cows and leaving the rest to graze in a grove, he came back to that old man in a different way and asked him: “Tell me, grandfather, have you seen a boy walking here with cows? If you tell me the truth and tell me which way he went, I will give you two cows.”

The old man rejoiced at the opportunity to get two cows and, not remembering given promise, said that quite recently a boy with cows passed along this road and headed towards that forest.

Hermes turned green with anger and turned the old man into a rock so that he would forever be silent and remind everyone that the person who gave the word should never break it.

After that, Hermes continued on his way and led the cows to Pylos. When he got there, he sacrificed two cows to his father Zeus, and drove the rest into the cave so that they had to back away. Thus, the tracks of the cows showed that they were leaving the cave, and not entering it. After that, Hermes quickly returned to his mother, wrapped himself in diapers and fell asleep as if nothing had happened. When his mother understood the reason why her son was not with her for so long, she began to reproach him and scold him for this trick. She reminded him of the well-aimed arrows of Apollo, with the help of which he punished the guilty. Hermes calmly replied to his mother that he was not afraid of Apollo at all. If Apollo decides to offend him, then Hermes will rob him of the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi in revenge.

A little time passed and Apollo appeared to claim his cows. Hermes pretended to sleep in his cradle. But Apollo woke him up and began to ask where the boy had taken his cows. The adult god swore for a long time with the young god, but Hermes stubbornly insisted that he had not seen any cows and did not know where they could be. The mother of Hermes also intervened, and, finally, Apollo simply pulled the boy out of the cradle and forced him to take him to the cave to take the cows from there.

They walked for a long time and only in the evening they reached the right place. Hermes, having shown Apollo a cave, sat down on one of the hillocks and began to play the lyre, which he had made himself. The gentle music enchanted Apollo, and he forgot his anger. He gave Hermes his cows in exchange for this lyre. So Apollo received a lyre, which he later often played and amused people. And around the world in his winged sandals, young Hermes flew at the speed of thought - the messenger of the Olympian gods, the patron of travelers, merchants, thieves, deceivers and orators.

Planet Venus

VENUS - the brightest celestial body after the Sun and the Moon - is apparently the first planet ("wandering star") that people discovered in the most ancient times. With its bright brilliance, it attracted the eyes of people in the morning, before sunrise, like Zornitsa, and in the evening, after sunset, like Vespers (evening star).

The visible brilliance of Venus gives her some mysterious beauty and charm, which is why she got this name. So the ancient Romans called the Greek goddess of beauty and love Aphrodite.

According to one version of the ancient Greek myth, Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and the nymph (oceanid) Dione. According to another, more common version of the myth, she was the daughter of Uranus (Heaven), born from the snow-white foam of the frisky waves of the sea, and was born near the island of Cythera. A light breeze, gently picking up the newly born goddess Aphrodite, carried her to the island of Cyprus. There the young Ores dressed her in golden robes and crowned her head with a wreath of fresh flowers.

Surrounded by her companions - Ores and Charites - the goddesses of beauty and grace, Aphrodite shone with beauty and charm. Where she passed, the rays of Helios flashed even brighter, the grass rose to growth, and the flowers blossomed and exuded a wondrous aroma. When she appeared, birds began to sing even more cheerfully, and predatory animals - lions, tigers, hyenas - surrounded Aphrodite and meekly licked her tender hands.

Eros (Eros) and Gimerot took Aphrodite to Olympus, and there the gods solemnly met her. From the heights of Olympus, the eternally young and most beautiful goddess Aphrodite rules over the world. Since then, both gods and mortals have been subject to her power. She awakens passionate love in the hearts of everyone with the help of her son Eros.

Eros was a cheerful, playful and playful boy. On his golden wings he flew like light wind over land and seas. He always had a small golden bow in his hands, and a quiver of arrows hung from his shoulder. No one could defend himself against the well-aimed arrows of Eros, because the cunning boy knew how to deftly hide, and no one had ever seen him. As soon as the arrow of Eros pierced the heart of a god or a mortal man, love flared up in him, and he began to live in joy and happiness, intoxicated with wondrous hopes and dreams. But the arrows of Eros also brought love torment, suffering and even death when unrequited love. More than once, the playful shooter pierced the heart of the great ruler of Heaven and Earth - Zeus - and caused him mental suffering.

Zeus knew that the son of Aphrodite, Eros, would cause suffering and misfortune to many people in the world. Therefore, he wanted the boy to be killed at his birth. But Aphrodite, having learned about the intentions of Zeus, hid her son in impenetrable forests, where two lionesses fed baby Eros with their milk. Eros grew up and, as a messenger of Aphrodite, began to sow love, joy and happiness among people with his arrows, but sometimes brought them love torment and suffering.

The planet Mars

The planet MARS has long attracted the attention of people with its highly visible blood-red color. For this color, she received the name - Mars. So the ancient Romans called the ancient Greek god of war Ares.

The god Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera, loved nothing but war. Nothing made his heart so happy as fierce battles and bloody wars between peoples. Armed with a sword and a huge shield, with a helmet on his head, he rushed furiously among the fighters and rejoiced violently, watching the bloodied warriors fall with groans and sobs. He triumphed when he managed to pierce a warrior with his sword and see hot blood pouring from his wounds. Blinded by his cruelty, the god Ares killed indiscriminately, and the more corpses he saw on the battlefield, the more joy he experienced at the same time.

Nobody liked the god Ares. Even Zeus told him more than once that if Ares had not been his son, he would have ended up in gloomy Tartarus long ago and suffered there along with the titans. Only two faithful assistants and companions were with Ares - the goddess of discord Eris and the goddess Enyuo, who sows murders in the world. Only they loved Ares and obediently fulfilled all his desires, going wherever he sent them to sow discord and murder among people. And after them, in the whirlwind of war, the god Ares himself moved, rejoicing at the sight of the blood shed before his eyes.

More than once, the god Ares suffered defeat and was forced to leave the battlefield defeated. And his warlike daughter of Zeus, Pallas Athena, won, won with wisdom and consciousness of her strength. She calmly stood before the ferocious Ares, covered with a brilliant helmet and a huge shield, and with her long sharp spear she put Ares to flight and forced him to flee into the mountains. As soon as the god of war himself fled from the battlefield, the war ended, and people again began to live in peace and prosperity.

Moons of Mars

In 1877, during the great opposition of the planet Mars, the American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered two satellites of this planet. According to the traditions that existed in astronomy, he gave them the names Phobos and Deimos (Fear and Horror).

Both satellites of Mars are relatively small celestial bodies. They are only visible through large telescopes, which did not exist in the 17th and 18th centuries, therefore it seems surprising that even at the beginning of the 17th century. Johannes Kepler suggested that the planet Mars has two satellites (that is, approximately 270 years before their actual discovery!). Even more surprising is that 150 years before the discovery of the satellites of Mars, in 1727, the brilliant English satirist Jonathan Swift quite accurately indicated the distance from Mars to both of its satellites.

And now the satellites of Mars attract the attention of astronomers. Due to the tidal influence on the satellites, Phobos is approaching Mars, and Deimos is moving away from Mars. Calculations show that in about a hundred million years, Phobos will approach Mars so much that it will pass dangerous limit Roche, and this will end its existence, as tidal forces will “tear” it into pieces of various sizes. From the debris, approximately the same ring will be obtained, which “decorates” the planet Saturn.

According to ancient Greek mythology, the god of war Ares (Mars) had two sons who accompanied him everywhere. One of the sons was named Phobos (Fear), and the other was Deimos (Horror). Together with their father, both sons always took part in wars and battles.

According to another version of the myth, Phobos and Deimos are the names of horses harnessed to war chariot god of war Ares. These horses rushed with insane speed, so that sparks fell from under their hooves, and the chariot flew with thunder and crackle across the battlefield. In it stood the cruelest of the gods, Ares, enjoying the blood shed before his eyes.

Planet Jupiter

The calm and strong golden visible brilliance gives the planet JUPITER majesty and grandiosity, especially when good conditions for observation. Therefore, apparently, she received the name Jupiter - as the Romans called the ancient Greek god Zeus - the ruler of Heaven and Earth, gods and mortals. With his lightning, he destroyed anyone who violated the order and law established by him in the world. Therefore, the ancient Greeks called him the Thunderer Zeus (see the constellation Leo).

Moons of the planet Jupiter

The era of telescopes in astronomy began with that clear and frosty night January 7, 1610, when Galileo Galilei pointed his small spotting scope at the heavenly bodies. Near the planet Jupiter, he noticed four faint "stars", which after some time he confidently identified as satellites of the planet.

In the course of 282 years, only four satellites of Jupiter were known, discovered by Galileo. The fifth moon of Jupiter was discovered by the American astronomer Edward Barnard in 1892. Charles Perrine in 1904 and 1905. discovered the sixth and seventh satellites, F. J. Mellot in 1908 - the eighth satellite of Jupiter. The next four satellites of this planet were discovered by S. B. Nicholson in 1914, in 1938 (two satellites) and in 1951. In September 1974, the American astronomer Charles Cowell discovered the thirteenth satellite, and about a year later (in October 1975) the fourteenth satellite of Jupiter.

Fourteen satellites revolve around this planet. They are numbered with Roman numerals in the order in which they were discovered. Only the first five satellites have names. Perrine, Mellot and Nicholson, who increased the number of discovered satellites from 5 to 12, did not use the right of discoverers and did not give names to their finds.

According to tradition, in astronomy, the names of the planets, with a few exceptions, are taken from Roman mythology, and the names of the satellites from Greek mythology (also with a few exceptions). According to this tradition, the names of the first five moons of Jupiter (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and Amalthea) are associated with Zeus (or Jupiter in Roman mythology).

The first satellite of Jupiter was named Io, the daughter of the river god Inach, the first king of Argolis. Here is how it is described in ancient Greek myth her tragic life and fate.

Young Io was beautiful. Her beauty could only be matched by that of the most beautiful goddess. Once, from the heights of Olympus, Zeus saw Io in the garden of his father's palace. Fascinated by her divine beauty and youthful charm, he immediately turned into a dark cloud and descended to the girl. But the jealous wife of Zeus Hera found out about it. Blinded by jealousy, she decided to destroy her rival. To save his beloved, Zeus turned her into a snow-white cow with big beautiful eyes. Hera, hiding her anger, asked Zeus to give her this cow, because she supposedly liked her very much. Zeus could not refuse Hera. But as soon as Hera became the mistress of Io, she immediately subjected her to terrible torment. Hera gave the cow under guard to the stout-eyed Argus (the personification of the starry sky) and ordered him to keep Io in one place on the top of a high mountain. Day and night she stood motionless and suffered terribly, but she could not tell anyone about her torment, as she was deprived of the gift of speech and only mooed plaintively.

Zeus saw the suffering of Io. One day he called the messenger of the gods Hermes and ordered him to steal Io. Hermes immediately rushed to carry out the assignment and soon was already on the top of that mountain where the guard Argus guarded Io. Hermes sat down next to Argus, began to tell various fables and put Argus to sleep with them. As soon as he fell asleep and closed his last eye, Hermes cut off his head with one blow of his huge sword. The freed Io was finally able to descend the mountain.

Having freed Io from the ever-vigilant Argus, Zeus could not save her from the malice of his jealous wife. On the contrary, Hera's hatred for Io became even greater. She sent a monstrous gadfly to Io, who, with his long sharp sting, bit her so that she had to run and did not have a moment's rest. Pursued by a gadfly, driven to madness by unbearable torments, covered in sweat and foam, bloodied, Io rushed from country to country. Frantic running over plains and valleys, over high mountains and dense forests did not save her from the gadfly, whose pitiless sting drove her further and further. There is almost no country left on Earth through which the unfortunate Io would not rush in her terrible run. Finally she reached Far North and found herself at the rock, to which the titan Prometheus, the benefactor of people, was chained. He predicted to Io that the end of her suffering would come after she reached Egypt. He showed Io the path she had to take to reach that distant land. Having listened to the words of Prometheus, Io rushed to the south, but the gadfly did not leave his victim ... Io had to go through many more countries, cross many seas, until, finally, she reached Egypt. There, on the banks of the blessed Nile, Zeus returned her human form. Again the young girl shone with her divine beauty. From Zeus, Io gave birth to a son Epaphus - the first king of Egypt, the founder of a glorious generation of heroes, among whom was the most famous and illustrious hero - Hercules, who freed Prometheus.

The second satellite of Jupiter is named after Europe, the daughter of King Agenor, who competed with the immortal goddesses with her beauty. Enchanted by her, Zeus turned into a bull and kidnapped Europa, taking her to the island of Crete (see about the constellation Taurus).

Jupiter's third moon is named after Ganymede, the son of the Trojan king Laomedon.

Beautiful and slender, like the god Apollo, was the young Ganymede. He herded his father's flocks on the evergreen slopes of the Ida mountain ranges. But Zeus sent his eagle, who kidnapped Ganymede and brought him to the gods on Olympus. Zeus rewarded Ganymede with immortality and made him his butler. During the feasts that the gods often arranged on various occasions, Ganymede, along with the eternally young Hebe - the daughter of the goddess Hera - brought ambrosia and nectar to the gods (see the constellation Aquarius).

Planet Saturn

The slow apparent movement of this planet against the background of the zodiac constellations and its calm yellowish brilliance give it a certain majesty. Therefore, she was given the name SATURN - as the Romans called the ancient Greek god Kronos.

After Uranus (Sky) became the ruler of the world, he took the blessed Gaia (Earth) as his wife. And twelve children were born to them (six sons and six daughters) - mighty and ferocious titans.

In addition to the titans, Gaia also gave birth to three giants - the Cyclopes. Each of them had one eye in the middle of the forehead, and with their appearance they instilled fear in everyone. Uranus hated them, locked them in the dark bowels of the Earth and did not allow them to appear on White light. Suffering tore the heart of the goddess Gaia at the sight of how her children, the Cyclopes, were tormented. Gaia failed to appease her formidable husband Uranus, and one day she called her children - the titans - and asked them to take power away from their father Uranus. The titans did not dare to rebel against their father. Only the youngest of the titans, Kronos, listened to his mother's advice. By cunning, he defeated Uranus and took power over the world into his own hands.

Satellites of the planet Saturn

The planet Saturn has ten satellites that can only be observed with the help of powerful telescopes. These satellites are numbered according to their distance from the planet, and not in the order of their discovery, as, for example, the moons of Jupiter.

In 1655, the Dutch scientist Christian Huygens discovered the first moon of Saturn. He named him the Titan. The first director of the Paris Observatory, Jean Dominique Cassini, discovered the following four satellites - in 1671 Iapetus, in 1672 Rhea, in 1684 Tethys and Dion. The English astronomer William Herschel in 1789 discovered two more satellites - Mimas and Enceladus, and in 1848 the American astronomer George Bond discovered another one and named it Hyperion. In 1898, the American astronomer Edward Pickering discovered another satellite and gave it the name Phoebe, and in 1966, the famous French planetary explorer O. Dollfuss discovered Janus.

In the names of Saturn's satellites, the tradition of names in astronomy is preserved to the greatest extent. Most of the satellites, as you can see, are named after the titans - brothers and sisters of Saturn (Kronos), who himself was a titan. Therefore, the first discovered satellite of Saturn was named after Titan, the brother of Saturn. Subsequently discovered new satellites of Saturn were called by their own mythological names of titans and titanides.

When Kronos defeated his father Uranus, a few drops of blood flowed from the body of the vanquished. From these drops, Gaia gave birth to giants - monsters who had huge snakes instead of legs. The heads of the giants were overgrown with thick black hair and from a distance looked like terrible black swirling clouds. The strength of the giants was indescribable, and, most importantly, they were invulnerable to the weapons of the gods. Only a mortal could kill them. The giants began to fight with the Olympic gods in order to seize power over the world from them. But Hercules, who was helped by the gods Apollo, Hephaestus, Dionysus and Pallas Athena, killed the giants to one and all. With a deadly arrow, he struck down the giant Mimas. Another giant - Enceladus, to escape from the well-aimed arrows of Hercules, rushed to run. But Pallas Athena overtook him and filled up the whole island of Sicily. Under this island, the giant Enceladus is still located. Two of Saturn's ten moons, Mimas and Enceladus, are named after these two giants.

Tethys is named after the titanide Tethys, sister and wife of Oceanus.

The satellite of Dion is named after the nymph (oceanids) Dione. From her marriage with Zeus, Dione gave birth to the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.

The satellite of Rhea is named after the wife of Kronos (Saturn) - the mother of Zeus (Jupiter).

The Hyperion satellite got its name from the titan Hyperion. From the marriage of Hyperion with the goddess Theia, Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn) were born.

The satellite Iapetus is named after the titan Iapetus - the father of Atlas (Atlas), who supported the vault of heaven on his shoulders on the western edge of the Earth, the brother of Prometheus - the benefactor of people.

Phoebe's satellite is named after the titanides Phoebe, the daughter of one of the titans.

Janus is named after Janus, the god of time. He had two faces: one turned to the past, and the other to the future. The month of January, which begins the year, is also named after Janus. Mythology does not connect Saturn (Kronos) and Janus. But since Janus was revered from the very beginning as the god of light and the Sun, he has the right to be on a par with Saturn's satellites - Hyperion and Phoebe. Janus, being the god of time, is a relative of Kronos (Saturn), that is, time.

Planet Uranus

The planet Uranus is invisible to the naked eye, so people did not know anything about it until almost the end of the 18th century. On March 13, 1781, the English astronomer William Herschel discovered it by accident in the constellation of Gemini with the help of his telescope, which gave a magnification of 227 times. At first, Herschel did not assume that it was a planet. But he soon became convinced that the object he discovered was not a star, but a planet of the solar system, because, in addition to the clearly visible disk of the planet (in the visual field of the telescope), he also noticed its slow movement against the starry background.

Taking advantage of the right of discoverers to name the discovered by them celestial objects, Herschel named the new planet "Star of George" (GEORGIUM SIDUS) and presented it as a gift to the English king George III. But this name violated astronomical traditions to such an extent that astronomers all over the world, despite the enormous authority of their colleague Herschel, did not accept it. new planet the name Uranus was given, taken from ancient Greek mythology, according to which the goddess Gaia (Earth), powerful and strong, who gave and gives life to everything that only grows and lives in the world, gave birth to an endless blue Sky (Uranus), stretched over her like a roof .

Moons of the planet Uranus

The planet Uranus has five moons, which are numbered according to their distance from Uranus, not according to the order in which they were discovered.

In 1787, William Herschel discovers two satellites (III and IV). The next two satellites were discovered by the English astronomer William Lassell (I and II) in 1851, and in 1948 D. Kuiper discovers the last known fifth satellite of the planet Uranus.

In the names of the satellites of the planet Uranus, not only is the astronomical tradition of using mythological names not preserved, but it is not taken into account at all. In essence, Herschel laid the foundation new tradition- name the satellites of the planet Uranus after the names of characters from Shakespeare's famous comedies.

Herschel gave the names Oberon and Titania to the two satellites of Uranus discovered by him, taking these names from Shakespeare's comedy Dream in midsummer night". It is interesting that astronomers, who are zealots of tradition in astronomy, have adopted these names. Why? Because Herschel, when naming these satellites, was guided by the following considerations. English title Shakespeare's comedy "Midsummer Night's Dream" literally translates as "A dream at night in the middle of summer", that is, a dream on the night of the summer solstice. And according to the beliefs of many nations, on the night of the summer solstice, miracles occur in nature and people can see the invisible.

According to mythology (but not Greek), Oberon was the king of the elves, and Titania was his wife. They quarreled when they discussed the question of whether there are faithful husbands and wives. They should have reconciled only if they found at least one such exemplary couple.

And such a couple was found: they were Rezia, the daughter of the Caliph of Baghdad, and Huon, a knight of Charlemagne. Each of them was subjected to all sorts of love temptations and trials, but in spite of everything, they remained faithful to each other. Oberon praised them for this and made peace with Titania.

The two moons of Uranus discovered by Lassell were given the names Ariel and Umbriel by the astronomer. Name Ariel (spirit in Scandinavian mythology) Lassell took from Shakespeare's comedy The Tempest. As for the name Umbriel, it is not entirely clear where it comes from, but its origin can be associated with the word umbra - shadow.

The fifth satellite of the planet Uranus, discovered by Kuiper, was named after Miranda, the heroine of Shakespeare's comedy The Tempest, the daughter of the Duke of Milan. The good spirit of Ariel served him.

As you can see, the names of the satellites of the planet Uranus can be considered Shakespearean.

Planet Neptune

Some time after the discovery of the planet Uranus and the calculation of its orbit around the Sun, it was found that the differences between the previously calculated and observed positions of Uranus grow with time. This alarmed astronomers, they were increasingly concerned about the question of the causes of these differences.

It was found that the movement of Uranus around the Sun depends not only on Jupiter and Saturn, but also on some other celestial body, as yet unknown. Two scientists - the Frenchman Urbain Le Verrier and the Englishman John Adams - began to study the perturbations of Uranus in order to calculate the position in this moment on the celestial sphere unknown planet not visible to the naked eye.

Based on the position of the unknown planet previously calculated by Le Verrier, it was discovered on September 23, 1846 by Johann Galle at the Berlin Observatory. The planet discovered “on the tip of a pen” was given the name Neptune. So the Romans called the ancient Greek god Poseidon - the owner of the seas and the deep sea.

Moons of the planet Neptune

In 1846, William Lassell discovered the first satellite of Neptune, which he named Triton. According to tradition, this was the most appropriate name for Neptune's moon.

Triton was the son of Poseidon (Neptune). Among the many gods surrounding the throne of Poseidon in his golden palace at the bottom of the sea, Triton occupied the first place. In his hands he held a huge shell. When Triton blew into this shell, thunder was carried far over all the seas and a terrible storm began to rage.

In 1949, Kuiper discovered the second satellite of Neptune and named it Nereid.

sea ​​god Nereus had fifty beautiful daughters - Nereids. One of them - Amphitrite - was abducted by Poseidon (Neptune) and became his wife (see the constellation Dolphin). Neptune and Amphitrite lived in a fabulously beautiful palace in the depths of the sea. Therefore, it would be more correct to call the second satellite of Neptune Amphitrite - the name of Neptune's wife.

Planet Pluto

After the discovery of the planet Neptune and taking into account its gravitational influence on the motion of Uranus, some weak deviations remained unexplained. The American astronomer Percival Lovell suggested that these deviations are caused by the influence of another planet on Uranus, more distant than Neptune. In 1915 he carried out theoretical studies unknown planet based on unexplained deviations in the motion of Uranus in its orbit around the Sun. These studies by Lovell probably prompted the American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh to search more persistently for an unknown planet in the zone of the zodiac constellations, and on March 13, 1930, in a photograph of the constellation Gemini, he discovered an unknown object of the fifteenth magnitude. This object turned out to be a new, hitherto unknown planet in the solar system.

Moving in its orbit around the Sun at the very edge of the solar system, this planet seems to be floating in cold and darkness. Therefore, it was called Pluto - as the Romans called the ancient Greek god Hades - the ruler of the gloomy underground kingdom of the shadows of the dead, where the rays of Helios never penetrate.

Minor planets (asteroids)

Creator heliocentric system great polish scientist Nikolai Copernicus, taking as a unit the distance from the Earth to the Sun (astronomical unit), for the first time calculated the distances from the Sun to Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Kepler, an ardent follower of Copernicus, was strongly impressed by the fact that Jupiter is very far from Mars. There seemed to be some kind of "void" between these planets, and he made an intuition that in this "void" there must be some unknown invisible planet.

Kepler's assumption was confirmed after the German astronomer, mathematician and physicist Johann Daniel Titius proposed a rule of thumb about the distances of the planets from the Sun in 1772. Four years later Johann Bode published this rule and it became known as the Titius-Bode rule. It consists in the following regularity: if to each member of the series 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, ... add the number 4 and divide the newly obtained number by 10, then the members of the new series are 0.4; 0.7; 1.0; 1.6; 2.8; 5.2; 10.0, ... approximately express (in astronomical units) the distances from the Sun to Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn ... In this series, the number 2.8 supposedly expresses the distance from the Sun to an invisible planet located between Mars and Jupiter .

Doubts about the correctness of this rule, as well as that there is an invisible planet between Mars and Jupiter, completely disappeared in 1781, when William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus, located at a distance of 19.2 astronomical unit. According to the Titius-Bode rule, the distance from Uranus to the Sun is calculated as 19.6 astronomical units. This fact served as an impetus for the search for an invisible planet. Since the end of the XVIII century. astronomers zealously began to "scour" the zodiac constellations with their telescopes and look for an invisible planet. It was discovered by the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi on January 1, 1801 as a faint "star" of magnitude 7m.6 in the constellation Taurus.

For six weeks, Piazzi regularly observed a "star" that was not listed in the star catalogs. Piazzi noticed that she was slowly moving from west to east in relation to the "neighboring" stars, but due to illness, Piazzi was forced to interrupt his observations. When he recovered and tried to find this "star", he did not find it. No matter how carefully he examined through a telescope the area in which last time watched her, he could not find her anywhere, as if she had disappeared without a trace. Where did she go?

The answer to this question was given by the then young mathematician Carl Gauss, who developed a method for calculating the orbit of rotation of a celestial body around the Sun (the smallest for three accurate observations of this celestial body made at three different times). Based on Piazzi's observations, Gauss calculated the orbit of the "star" he had discovered. It turned out that this is not a comet, as Piazzi had previously assumed, but a small celestial body with an orbit passing between Mars and Jupiter, at an average distance of 2.8 astronomical units from the Sun. According to the calculated orbit, Gauss compiled the ephemeris of the celestial body discovered by Piazzi. On its basis, exactly a year later, on January 1, 1802, the “Piazzi star” was again discovered by the German physician and amateur astronomer Heinrich Olbers exactly in the place that Gauss had previously calculated. There was no longer any doubt that the "Star of Piazzi" was a minor planet named Ceres.

Olbers began regular observations of Ceres. A little time passed, and on March 28, 1802, "not far" from Ceres, he discovered another, similar to it minor planet, which was named Pallas. Its orbit of revolution around the Sun also ended up between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The most interesting thing was that its orbit approximately coincided with the orbit of Ceres. This led Olbers to the idea that both discovered minor planets - Ceres and Pallas - are in fact fragments of some big planet, which revolved around the Sun in an orbit lying between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. For unknown reasons, the planet split apart. Developing this idea further, Olbers suggested that between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter there should be a large number of fragments of a shattered planet. This assumption gave him new incentive to search for minor planets between Mars and Jupiter. The results were not long in coming.

In 1804, K. Gardin discovered the minor planet Juno, and three years later Olbers discovered Vesta.

Everything is included in the search for minor planets more astronomers and observatories. a huge role played an increase in the power of telescopes. All this contributed to the late XIX in. 452 minor planets were discovered. When astronomers began to use photography and special methods for detecting small planets, the number of discoveries increased dramatically. To date, they all have their own numbers and are included in a special catalog of over 1800 units.

Asteroids are usually invisible to the naked eye, and in the visual field of a modern telescope they are visible as faint "stars". The very name of the minor planets - asteroids (stellar) - shows that their sizes are very small compared to the sizes major planets. The largest of the minor planets, Ceres, for example, has a diameter of 770 km. It is followed by Pallas (490 km), Vesta (390 km), Albert (230 km), Melpomene (230 km), Eumonia (230 km), Juno (190 km), etc. Asteroids discovered in recent decades have diameters less than 1-2 kilometers.

Visible shine a large number asteroids changes over time, as if they begin to "blink". This phenomenon is explained by their irregular and elongated shape and their own rotation around the axis.

The largest asteroids are also the brightest. Them magnitudes fluctuate between 6m and 8m, while the open last years asteroids are very faint (from 13m to 15m). In the future, no doubt, even smaller asteroids will be discovered. How many asteroids are there in the solar system? There is no definitive answer to this question yet. The results of research by different scientists vary greatly, but still it can be assumed that the number of asteroids is in the range from 10,000 to 100,000. It is obvious, however, that about two thousand discovered asteroids represent a small part of all asteroids in our solar system.

Observing and photographing any asteroid with a modern telescope is not difficult. Difficulties come when it is necessary to prove that the fixed asteroid is really new, and not one of the already discovered ones. This makes it necessary to photograph the asteroid regularly, night after night, and to determine its coordinates at the moments of observation from the images. According to the coordinates, then the orbit of the asteroid around the Sun is calculated and its ephemeris is compiled. Further observations of the asteroid are carried out on the basis of the compiled ephemeris, then the differences between the previously calculated and photographed positions of the asteroid are analyzed, and its orbit is refined. These observations continue long time, but only on their basis it is proved that this asteroid is really new. Only after that the asteroid is assigned a number and a name, and it is entered into the catalog of minor planets.

In accordance with the tradition accepted in astronomy, the minor planets are called female names which are taken from Greek and Roman mythology. But back in 1890 everything suitable names were exhausted. Therefore, newly discovered asteroids began to be assigned the names of prominent astronomers, remarkable scientists and great historical figures, the names of cities and states, geographical regions, etc. Together with the name, each asteroid also receives an individual number, which is assigned to it in the order of discovery and placed in brackets ( after the name of the asteroid).

With a continuously growing number of asteroids, maintaining a strict tradition in their naming becomes difficult. Some asteroids that differ significantly from others (for example, in their orbits) were given masculine names. So, for example, the asteroids that form the Jupiter group are named after the heroes Trojan War. These 14 asteroids are known by common name"Trojans" - Achilles (588), Patroclus (617), Hector (624), Nestor (659), Priam (884), Agamemnon (911), Odysseus (1143), Aeneas (1172), Anchises (1173), Troilus (1208), Ajax (1404), Diomedes (1437), Antilochus (1583) and Menelaus (1647).

Trojans form two groups. The first is located in front of Jupiter, and the other - after it, with each group being at the top equilateral triangle formed by this group, the Sun and Jupiter. In other words, each of the Trojan groups is equally distant from the Sun and Jupiter.

The "Trojan" asteroids that are in the group in front of Jupiter are named after the Achaean heroes, and those behind the planet are called the names of the Trojan heroes.

It is impossible to tell all the myths and legends associated with the names taken from mythology for several hundred asteroids, so we will give only a few of them.

The asteroid Ceres (1) is named after the goddess Ceres. So the Romans called the ancient Greek goddess of fertility Demeter, the patroness of agriculture and the mother of Persephone, or, as the Romans called her, Proserpine (see the constellation Virgo).

The asteroid Pallas (2) is named after the goddess Pallas Athena.

Zeus married the goddess of wisdom, Metis. But the goddesses of fate, the Moira, predicted that Zeus would have a daughter and a son from Metis, who would take away his power over the world. To avoid this, Zeus put Metis to sleep with gentle caresses and swallowed her before she gave birth to his daughter, the goddess Pallas Athena. A little time passed, and Zeus felt an unbearable pain in his head. To get rid of her, he called his son Hephaestus and ordered him to cut his head. Hephaestus waved his sharp sword and cut his father's head, without causing him any pain, of course. From the head of Zeus came the goddess Pallas Athena. On her head was a golden helmet, and in her hands she held a sharp spear and a shiny shield.

For the ancient Greeks, the goddess Pallas Athena was one of the main deities. People treated her with special respect. According to their beliefs, she was the goddess of wisdom, who taught people crafts and sciences. Thanks to her, the Greeks became fearless sailors and mastered fine arts. She taught women how to weave linen and skillfully and deftly do all the housework. But not only this was given by the goddess Athena Pallas to the Greeks. She even defeated the lord of the seas, Poseidon, in a dispute over who would own Attica. According to the decision of Zeus, the power over Attica should have belonged to the one of the gods who brought the best gift the inhabitants of this country. Poseidon struck a rock with his trident, and from there he hammered a spring of pure, like a tear, water - a symbol of the fact that the inhabitants of Attica will become fearless sailors and will own all the seas. And Athena Pallas tore the ground with a spear, and in the dug place a green olive tree grew, strewn with fruits. This tree was supposed to bring wealth to the Greeks and provide food. The gift of Pallas Athena turned out to be more valuable, and she became the owner of Attica. Therefore, one of the cities of Attica bears her name - Athens.

Pallas Athena was the patroness of cities and Greek heroes whom she advised wise advice and to whom she always came to the rescue when mortal danger threatened their lives.

The asteroid Juno (3) is named after the goddess Juno. So the Romans called the goddess Hera - the wife of Zeus, the patroness of marriage and family.

The asteroid Vesta (4) was named after the ancient Roman goddess Vesta - (among the ancient Greeks Hestia) - the goddess of the hearth and sacrificial fire. The Greeks also revered her as the patroness of cities and the state. Evidence of her strength is that the goddess Aphrodite, who aroused love in the hearts of both mortals and gods, could not subjugate only Hestia, Pallas Athena and Artemis to her power.

The asteroid Hebe (6) was named after the eternally young and carefree Hebe - the daughter of Zeus and Hera. According to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, Hebe personified a cheerful free youth. When Hera's hatred for Hercules faded, she gave him her daughter Hebe as a wife.

The asteroids Melpomene (18), Calliope (22), Thalia (23), Euterpe (27), Urania (30), Polyhymnia (33), Erato (62), Terpsichore (81) and Clio (84) are given the names of the Muses who always accompanied the god Apollo.

In spring and summer, when green forests cover Helikon, near the sacred spring of Hippocrene and on Mount Parnassus, from where clear waters Of the Castal key, the god Apollo accompanied the magical dances of the nine muses by playing the lyre - the patronesses and inspirers of poetry, art and science, the lovely and carefree daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, They were companions of Apollo, who often accompanied them when the muses sang their wondrous songs. When they sang and danced, and Apollo played his lyre, even the gods on Olympus fell silent and listened to them with rapture.

The god Apollo appears slowly and majestically, crowned with a laurel wreath, with a golden lyre on his shoulder, and behind him, shining with his youth and divine charm, the nine muses dancing and singing: Calliope is the muse epic poetry, Erato - the muse of love songs, Melpomene - the muse of tragedy, Thalia - the muse of comedy, Terpsichore - the muse of dancing, Euterpe - the muse lyric poetry, Urania - the muse of astronomy, Clio - the muse of history and Polyhymnia - the muse of sacred hymns.

The asteroids Themis (24) and Dike (99) are given the names of the goddess of justice and the goddess of justice (see the constellation Libra).

The asteroid Proserpina (26) got its name in honor of the daughter of Zeus and Demeter Persephone, whom the Romans called Proserpina (see the constellation Virgo).

The asteroid Amphitrite (29) was given the name of the wife of the god Poseidon Amphitrite (see the constellation Dolphin).

The asteroids Bvfrosina (31) and Aglaya (96) were given the names of Charites, or Graces, Euphrosyne and Aglaya. According to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks and Romans, they were the goddesses of ideal female beauty and charm, the personification of harmony and joy in the world.

The asteroid Daphne (41) was named after the nymph Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus.

This is what the myth of the tragedy of Daphne tells.

Tall and slender, seducing everyone with her beauty, Daphne walked carelessly through the green glades of the Tembi Valley, where the Peney River flowed. She collected flowers, wove them into wreaths, which she loved to decorate her head with, chased butterflies. Her carefree laugh echoed through the wooded hills.

One day Daphne decided to climb high mountain Ossa, blue in the distance. Daphne flew there like a bird and began to climb the wooded slope of the mountain. Finally, tired, she sat down to rest in a small forest clearing, overgrown with wonderful beautiful flowers. I suddenly heard magical sounds - someone was playing the lyre. Daphne listened. But soon the sounds died away. She stood up and began to look in the direction from which the music had recently flowed. She saw that a handsome, slender young man with a radiant face and with a lyre on his shoulder was descending from the mountain slope towards her. It was the god Apollo himself. Daphne was frightened, rushed to run from the mountain closer to her native Tembi valley, to her father, the river god Peneus, for protection. The young man ran after her, begging her to stop, called his name, but Daphne ran even faster. She had already reached the river when Apollo almost overtook her. Then Daphne, bursting into tears, begged her father Peneus to save her from the persecuting young man. And at the same moment a thick haze came running, hiding Daphne from the eyes of Apollo. After a while, the fog cleared, and in the place where Daphne had been before, an amazing tree with green leaves grew up - which the wind moved quietly, and they made a slight noise, as if they were talking to each other. Apollo realized that the god Peneus turned his daughter Daphne into this tree, and named this tree after her - Daphne - a laurel tree. Since then, it has become Apollo's favorite tree, from its branches he made a crown that he never took off his head. Laurel branches began to reward the winners of sports games and competitions. For them, the laurel wreath was the only and highest award.

The name of the asteroid Pandora (55) recalls the misfortunes and troubles that Zeus brought down on people.

After Prometheus gave fire to people and taught them to work the earth and melt metals, build dwellings and raise livestock and poultry, people began to live happily. Villages and cities flourished, herds of cows and sheep grazed on green meadows, and the fields were golden from ripened ears. Joy and happiness reigned throughout the Earth. Zeus saw this and realized that Prometheus had violated his commandment, making people happy, and anger filled his soul. He decided to severely punish Prometheus, and make people unhappy and destitute again in order to maintain his power over them. “If people master knowledge and wisdom,” Zeus thought, “they will no longer honor me or the other gods of Olympus.”

He called his son Hephaestus, gave him clay and ordered to make a girl out of it, who would be more beautiful than all the girls on Earth. Hephaestus took the clay and carried it to his smithy, which was located on the top of a mountain that constantly spewed out clouds of smoke and violent flames. Exactly one day later, Hephaestus brought a statue of a girl made of clay to Olympus and handed it over to Zeus. She was truly divinely beautiful, but lifeless.

Zeus gathered all the Olympian gods and, placing a girl in front of them, ordered each of them to reward her with some gift. Zeus himself first of all gave the girl life. Pallas Athena rewarded her with intelligence, taught her how to weave a magic cloth and do all the housework. Apollo endowed her with a marvelous voice and taught her to sing beautiful songs, and Aphrodite gave her blue eyes, golden hair and divine beauty. And, finally, Hermes endowed her with the gift of speech, so that she spoke so beautifully and convincingly that no one could ever refuse her anything.

The girl received all these gifts from the gods, and therefore Zeus gave her the name Pandora, which meant "gifted with everything." After that, he called Hermes, handed him Pandora and ordered her to be taken to Prometheus' brother Epimetheus and given to him as a wife.

Pandora and Epimetheus lived happily, but their happiness did not last long. One evening, Hermes brought them a gift from Zeus, a large beautiful box tied with a golden rope. Hermes ordered them not to look into the box and left.

As soon as Hermes left, curiosity began to overcome Pandora: what is in this box? For a long time she marveled and wondered, and finally decided to open it and see what lay there. She grabbed the golden bandage, untied the knot, and lifted the lid. From the box, like a cloud, various disasters that were contained there flew out and scattered all over the world: suffering, torment, worries, illness, anger, lies, theft, theft, misfortunes, which immediately attacked people and forever deprived them of happiness. They did not pass Pandora and Epimetheus either. Desperate, tormented by pain and suffering, their eyes looked at the box and suddenly heard a voice coming from the depths: “Let me go, I will ease your torment and suffering!”

Pandora wondered if it was worth opening the box again to free the creature that so insistently begged her for freedom. Finally, the oka said to herself: "It is hardly possible for us to suffer a greater misfortune than that which has already fallen." She lifted the lid, and - oh, a miracle! - in the same jig, a sweet girl with a radiant face, bright, lively eyes and a joyful smile appeared from the box. Like a butterfly, she fluttered around the room and lightly touched Pandora and Epimetheus with her wings. Miraculously, the suffering that tormented Pandora and Epimetheus disappeared, and they even smiled at each other. They asked the girl her name, and she said: "My name is Nadezhda."

Pandora and Epimetheus begged the girl to stay with them forever and ease their suffering, but she replied: “I will always come to you when you feel the need for me. And now I must hasten to console many other people on Earth and bring joy to those whose pain and suffering are no less than yours.

The asteroid Icarus (1566), with a diameter of only 1.5 kilometers, is perhaps the most interesting asteroid known to date. Its orbit around the Sun is a very oblong ellipse. When Icarus is at perihelion, it is only 28 million kilometers from the Sun (twice as close to it as the planet Mercury). At aphelion, it is located at a distance of 390 million kilometers from the Sun (far beyond the orbit of the planet Mars).

So far, no other asteroid is known to come as close to the Sun as Icarus. Therefore, he was given the name of the legendary young man Icarus - the son of Daedalus, about whom the myth tells the following.

Far beyond Athens, the fame of Daedalus spread. He was not only an unsurpassed painter and sculptor, but he also built magnificent palaces. His white marble statues seemed to be alive, only they could not walk or talk.

One of the students of Daedalus was his nephew Tal, who from a young age amazed with his talent and ingenuity. Daedalus was afraid that his nephew could surpass him in skill and overshadow his glory, and decided to kill him. One evening he invited Tal for a walk. They came to the Acropolis of Athens and stopped on a rock at the very edge of the abyss. When the last rays of Helios disappeared in the west and the goddess Nikta threw her dark veil over the Earth, Daedalus pushed his nephew, and he flew into the abyss. So Tal died.

Daedalus descended from the cliff into the abyss and there he found the body of the crashed nephew. He began to dig his grave to hide the traces of the crime, but at that moment the Athenians saw him. The crime of Daedalus was obvious, and the Areopagus condemned him to death. To avoid death, Daedalus fled with his son Icarus to the island of Crete to King Minos. Minos was delighted that such a famous builder and artist had come to him, and received father and son as dear guests.

Daedalus, in gratitude for the reception, built a labyrinth palace for Minos with such a large number of intricate corridors that those who got there could no longer get out of the labyrinth.

Years have passed. Homesickness oppressed Daedalus more and more, and he asked Minos to let him return to Athens. In no case did Minos want to lose such a skilled craftsman and refused Daedalus. He even ordered the guards to keep an eye on the father and son so that they would not make an attempt to escape from the island using some random ship.

The torment of Daedalus grew day by day. Day and night, he thought about how he could leave the island of Crete and free himself from the power of King Minos. Finally, he came up with: “If I cannot free myself from bondage with the help of a ship, then only the sky remains for me! After all, this road remains open!”

Daedalus collected the feathers of various birds, tied them with linen threads and sealed them with wax. He made four wings like this. He called his son Icarus, attached two wings to him and showed him how to wave them when flying. Put on Daedalus and his wings. And before leaving, he warned Icarus not to rise very high and not approach the Sun, because the wax that held the feathers together could melt from its heat, and without wings he would die.

Daedalus and Icarus flapped their wings, rose above the Earth and flew to their native Athens.

Icarus forgot his father's advice. Carried away by the flight and drunk with freedom, he flapped his wings more and more and rose higher and higher. The scorching rays of the Sun touched him, the wax had already begun to melt, the wings broke up, and Icarus flew swiftly to Earth, fell into the sea and drowned, which is why since then they began to call this sea the Icarian (now the Cretan Sea - southern part Aegean Sea).