The human discoverer of the planet Cynthia named it after his wife. Thurman discovered Thurman's Star and named one of its planets, "Vanessa."
Falkayn thinks:
"Judas, what a radium-plated opportunity an explorer had! What girl could possibly resist an offer to name a whole world for her?" (I, p. 272)
On Coronation Street, a guy got a star named after his girlfriend and googling reveals that this is a real world practice. See Star Registration. I suppose that that is one way to interact with the universe. Inhabitants of a planet in orbit around a star have no way of knowing that their sun is named after someone on Earth or that Earthmen might arrive and name their planet "Cynthia" or "Vanessa." I wonder what they call us?
In a James Blish story, Sol seen from far enough away is in a constellation called the Parrot and, in Anderson's Technic History, it is in the Maukh. See The Plowman And The Parrot.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And of course not all planets in the Technic stories got human names. Some, like Merseia, Trillia, Ythri, etc., were the native names for these worlds, and used as such by humans.
Ad astra! Sean
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