Semira
& VitalyVetash
AN APPEAL TO ASTRONOMERS
THAT GIVE NAMES TO ASTEROIDS
There is a custom
among astronomers that the person who has discovered an asteroid has the right
to name it. However, to choose the name for these small planets is difficult
task. So many asteroids have only numbers.
We want to attract
the attention of astronomers to the original method of naming asteroids after
mythological personages. These types of names have the widest archetypical
significance and are comprehensible and understood by most people. These images
were formed over thousands of years and reflect the history of the human mind.
All the plots of modern films are, in fact, echos of mythological stories. Even
the image of a famous person after whom an asteroid is named has a less
universal meaning than an image of an ancient god or hero. The asteroid's name
must reflect the cultural life of the Earth and identify it as a unique
physical body. To designate these 'cosmic stones' with incomprehensible
abbreviations (fragments of names) and names of unknown persons is to remove
them from the sphere of human cultural interest.
When the historical
process of naming asteroids was begun astronomers usually considered that the
names should have some universal, global meaning. But in XX century
professional priority became the primary criteria. As the astronomer Schmadel
wrote in his "Dictionary of Minor Planet Names":
"The minor
planet sky like the surface of the Moon or of Mars, has became a sort of
'astronomer's cemetry'... Comparison /of old and modern nominations/ can show a
change in the 'Zeitgeist', and there are more or less subtle allusions to
events of world-wide importance."[1]
The nomination of minor planets reflects the specialization of knowledge. The names of planets are substantiated not because of their world-wide importance but on the grounds of their close and self referential association with astronomy. However, in recent time the tendency has appeared to unify various and multicultural aspects of world civilizations. The mythological naming of asteroids doubtlessly falls within this tendency and creates a common cultural understanding and meaning.
Historically, in
the naming process of asteroids, astronomers were used to using certain well
known goddesses as their naming source. There are many mythological names,
which have not been allotted to asteroids. For example the famous gods Roman Janus,
Greek Hymanaeus, Egyptian Thoth or the main god of Babylon Marduk.
And perhaps only a few names of the Indian gods from their rich mythology have
been used due to a dearth of Indian astronomers?
In the current
system of nominating, on the one hand, few asteroids are named according a
logical principle. On the other hand, there are traditions which are continued
in a formal manner. For instance, asteroids on the opposite side of Jupiter are
named after Trojan and Greek heroes. However, all the interesting mythological
images from the Trojan War history have already been used, yet astronomers
continue to look for such names and they are forced to give names of the
non-significant personages (those are even difficult to find in mythological
dictionaries!)
Another model arose
to nominate the distant asteroids after centaurs. After Chiron, Pholus and
Nessus there are no other interesting centaurs in Greek mythology. So in future
when new distant asteroids are discovered there will be a lack of significant centaur names which would
confirm the uniqueness of these objects and evoke an interest to them.
It seems to us that
the most consistent method of nominating asteroids in the future is a
nomination system based on the distance of the asteroids from the Sun or other
planets. For instance, asteroids near the Sun have names of solar gods,
asteroids whose orbits cross Venus' orbit are nominated after the gods of love
and so on. However this tradition has not been developed consistenly,perhaps
due to the modern division of the technical and humanitarian sciences (as a
consequence of which astronomers may have insufficient acquaintance with worldwide
mythological heritage ).
Being mythologists,
we decided to suggest a list of interesting mythological images that have not
been used in the naming of planets. For the asteroids of the group of
Apollo one can use the names of such
famous solar gods as Indian Surya and Savitar, Ra
of Egypt or Utu of Sumeria (where modern astronomical science was
born), Hvarnah of Iran or Amaterasu of Japan. For
the asteroids of this type the names of solar horses (Pegasus, Ashvinou,
Dadkhikra, Sleipnir) or gods that personifiy the
Sun's disk (Slavish Khors, Scythian Koloksay) would
be also appropriate.
The opposition of
Greek and Trojan heros could be continued by the opposition of main
mythological conflict that personified the eternal struggle between the Good and
the Evil (Indian God of Thunder Indra and serpent Vritra,
Iranian good Ahuramazdah and evil brother Ahriman
and so on). In this case the Leaders of gods would refer to the row of Greek heros, and their subterranean Enemies
to the Trojan ones.
And for the
nomination of the biggest stratum between Mars and Jupiter astronomers could
turn to the vast layer of Indian
mythology, and to the mythology and history of their native countries. That way
they wouldn't be filling space with only
their own names, but would be reflecting the deep memory of their
nations.
Below may be found
a list with the names of the most significant gods, whose names remain
forgotten by astronomers and have yet to be assigned to asteroids.
THE
MOST IMPORTANT MYTHOLOGICAL IMAGES,
recommended
to denominate the asteroids
Egyptian gods:
world ocean Nun,
primary chaos, from which everything arose; a pair of first gods Tefnut
(water, that is source of life) and Shu (air, that divides the
Sky from the Earth in order the World to
exist); a goddess of Heaven Nut, who everyday bears and absorbs
stars; a god of the Earth Geb, that had created people from clay,
the name of Egypt had arisen from his name (and there is no an asteroid Egypt
either); a god of foreign countries Setkh, an enemy of Horus and
Osiris (after them asteroids are already named; a goddess of truthful order and
justice Mahat; the main Egyptian god of the Sun Ra
(note: there does exist an asteroid Ra Shalom as a sign of agreement between Israel and Egypt); a god
of sunset a severe judge of people Atum; a lunar god Khonsu
in the image of a child, that is learning to count (days); a patroness of
pregnancy, hippopotamus Taurt; a wise god of knowledge Thoth,
that keeps books of Life and Death; a divine bull Apis, that was
an oracle and a symbol of fertility.
Gods of Sumeria and
Babylon:
a great and
horrible Mother of the World Tihamat in the image of a Hydra,
that had become the primary material for creation; a god of the storming sea Yammu,
pretending to the world authority; a god of Heaven Anu, a creator
that is distant from people and his impetuous son, a violent wind Enlil;
a god of the primary earth Enki, a creator of people who
designated their fates, his tables of the destinies Me (forces
that rules the world); furious defender of fertility Ninurta
(Sumerian name of the planet Saturn); a goddess of fate Namtaru
that comes in the moment of death; a god of celestial city Babylon Marduk,
who had won Chaos and created a new world from it (and there is no asteroid Babylon
either); an owner of the hell Ereshkigal, that releases nobody
from his land without a change; a bold warrior Nergal, that had
conquered even a goddess of death; a furious destroyer Erra; a
dying and resurrecting god of blossoming steppe Tammuz; a wise
writer Nabu, the god of knowledge,to whom a Babylonian tower was
erected; and the most ancient Sumerian name of the goddess of love Ishtar Inanna
(the asteroid Ishtar had been already named).
Mythological
personages of the Bible and the Middle East: an image of everything beyond
human understanding,the enormous sea monster Leviathan; the
virtuous builder of the Ark Noah; a creator of the World and
patron of their forces Sabaoth; the first man Adam;
a creator of people and their judge Elu; a god of thunder,
perishing and resurrecting in a struggle with death Baalu; a
forceful god of death Mutu; an skillful smith Khusor,
who built the order of the World; a solar god Shams and Biblical
hero Samson, with his strength in his hair (initially associated with
rays of the Sun); a god of Moon, the patron of predictors Syn; a
god of evening dawn and prosperity Shalimmu, a founder and patron
of Jerusalem, after whom the city was named (and there is no
asteroid named after this cradle of three religions).
Indo-Iranian gods:
cosmic waters where
the spark of life was born Apas and watery girls, beautiful
dancers Apsaras; the youngest brother Thrita, that
was thrown in a into a well by his older brothers: an image of a sacrifice,
descending to the very depths of existence in order to find the gifts of
eternity; a god of celestial and night Sky Varuna, that defends
people against the fear before the unknown; an air god of a wind and breath (spirit
and respiration) Vayu; a goddess of an infinite space, the mother
of light gods Aditi; the ancient god of the blue Sky and day
light Dyaus; an image of great goddess Devi and her
formidable personification Kali, that covers the world with
darkness in the end of the times; an ancestor Prajapati and a
first man Purusha, an analog of the World, from the body of whom
it was created; a god of thunderstorms Indra, who rules the
celestial wars and his eternal enemy serpent Vritra, that steals
his herd of clouds; a priest and a god of religious rituals Brihaspati,
and his image of a teacher Guru; a guardian of material and
spiritual richness Kubera; a triad of the main gods of the latest
Hindu pantheon: a law-giver Brahma and a creator Vishnu
(and his embodiment Krishna, a god of love); but there is an asteroid
named after the destructor Siva; the main gods of Zoroastrianism
the father of Time Zurvan and his sons a good brother Ahuramazdah
and evil brother Ahriman, as well as promoter of the new faith
Zarathustra; a god of death Yama, one of the first
pair of human twins, having descended to the subterranean world; a fire of life
energy Agni; solar gods open-handed Savitar,
with bountiful rays-hands, and the
generous helper and healer Surya; and an Iranian image of
everything desirable (fame, welfare an so on) a wreath of kings Hvarnah;
dawns and twilight in the image of fire horses Ashvinou
(Ashvins); a goddess of the river of life and a stream of speech Sarasvati;
a beauty of dawn Ushas; a goddess of happiness Laxmi
and feminine creative force Shakti; a shepherd Pushan
that opens paths through the forest of life. And the name of the country India.
From Greek and
Roman pantheons there are no such asteroids as primary Chaos, sea
monsters Hydra, Triton, and serpent Echidna;
an elusive sea god Proteus, that changes his face and hides his
mystery from those who can't recognize him; a god of winds and music Aeolus
and the highest element Aether; a Roman creator Janus,
that keeps the keys of the sky gates; the father of Olympic gods Kronos,
having devoured their children and associated with the image of inexorable Time
Chronos; irretrievable Tartaros; gods of dream Hypnos
and death Thanatos and Orcus, by the name of whom
Romans swore; a boatman Charon, transporting dead to Hades; a god
of Roman community and agreements Quirinus and god of frontiers Terminus;
a god of marriage Hymanaeus; Roman mother-Earth Tellus,
that rules works in any seasons of the year; a handsome goddess Bona Dea
and a patroness of animals Fauna. Also interesting is a Roman
image of a family spirit, that became the symbol of the highest talents of a
man Genius. There's not yet any asteroid named after ancient Hellas.
German astronomers
could commemorate the sky with a huge serpent Irmundgand,
encircling the World; images of human land Midgard and of heaven
of gods Asgard; a magic master smith Volund, that
had invented a flying chariot; and a giant man Ymir, from the
body of which the world was created.
American
astronomers could name asteroids after American Indian gods such as a creator
of light and thought that had born life Awonawilona; an ancestor
and builder of the house of the World Itzamna (in the image of a
snail); a god of fire of the hearth and smoking volcanos Xiutequtli;
gods of thunder rains Tlaloc with the 4 vessels of water and a
hunter Mixcoatl; an image of the distant land of dead Mictlan
and an earth paradise Tollan; the red Sun Tonatiu,
that drink the blood of killed warriors and the Moon Meztli; a
goddess of the Moon shine, weaver and healer Ix-Chel; an Aztec
Dionysis, a god of beer Xipe-Totec; a goddess of love and
blossoming Xochiquetzal and a bold leader Hiawatha.
Typical personages
of the South America are: enormous serpent Marmarinu; the hero
Litaolan, which won the monster that had devoured the population of
the Earth; the spirit Nagual (which is well known from books of
Castaneda); Mother-Earth Pachamama or the first pair of twins.
The most
interesting gods of New Zealand are: sea god Tangaroa that hears
and knows all the secret of people; and "the father of trees" Tane-Maguta
that separated the Heaven of Rangi from the Earth (Papa).
Russian astronomers
could remember some images from fairy tales likes as Chudo-Judo, Vodjanoj
(the spirit of water), Domovoj (the spirit of house),
Leshij (the spirit of wood) and Rusalka (Russian Undina);
a smith of the Sky Svarog, a wind messenger Stribog,
ancestors of the whole nature Rod and of the family Chur;
a pastor of the souls of dead and god of richness Veles; a divine
smith Kij, who is considered to be the founder of Kiev; a helper
of the people, a flying dog Semargl; a patroness of women, a
goddess of the harvest Makosh; the Sun dispensing gifts Dazhbog
and a solar disk Khors, that personifies everything good;
changeable fellow Moon Mesjats, that betrayshis wife Sun with the Morning Dawn, a
girl Kupava, a symbol of the Summer solstice, and an image of the
ancient Russia Rus'. One can name an asteroid after an
appropriate to a celestial body beautiful Russian name Sijana
(that means "shine".)
Finnish astronomers
could commemorate between the small planets the main heros of Kalevala: a smith
of the sky Ilmarinen and his friend and rival magician Vainemoinen,
that created the World by incantation (note: there are the asteroids Ilmari and
Vaina which are widely used Finnish names); Japanese astronomer the Sun Amaterasu,
that hides in a cave during the eclipses, the Moon Tsukuyomi,
that rules with rising and falling of the tide, sea rebel Susanowo,
that was exiled from the sky and the divine twins Izanagi that
became the first man, and the first woman Izanami.
Maybe Chinese
astronomers would sometime place on the sky images of the primary condition of
the World Huntun,the stable firmament Tian and his
wife Earth Hou-tu; an ancestor Fu-xi, that had invented
first instruments and writing; the chief of the Chinese pantheon the God of
Thunder Huang-di; a ministry of the subterranean justice Diyu;
a flaming Sun Yan-di, fighting with clouds of his brother-god of
thunderstorm; a sad goddess of the Moon Chang-e, that had
attained immortality in solitude; and a first man Pan-gu an
anthropomorphic image of the World, and likewise for the famous notions of Yin-Yang
(the main opposition of the world forces) and Dao (the way of
harmony).
* * *
Below is included a
list of gods according to their
typological categorization by planet.
Mercury-type gods (gods of knowledge and cultural heros,
ancestors of people) whose names one can recommend to nominate the asteroids
with orbits near Mercury: Egyptian Thoth, Sumerian Nabu,
German Ymir, Indian Prajapati and Purusha,
Chinese Pan-gu, Fu-xi and Nu-gua.
Venus-type gods (gods of love, dawn and fertility)
whose names one can recommend to nominate the asteroids with orbits near Venus:
Sumerian Inanna, Greek Hymanaeus, Roman Bona
Dea, Mayesta and Fauna; Indian Apsaras,
Ushas and Laxmi, Vishnu and Krishna;
Russian Makosh, Egyptian Apis, Semitic Shalimmu,
American Indian Xochiquetzal.
Martian gods (gods of fire and war leaders) whose
names one can recommend to nominate the asteroids with orbits near Mars:
Shumerian Erra and Nergal, Indian Agni
and Pushan, American Indian Hiawatha.
Jupiter's gods (gods of thunder and the chiefs of
gods) whose names one can recommend to nominate the asteroids of the Greek row
with orbits near Jupiter: Sumerian Enlil and Marduk,
Semitic Baalu, Iranian Zarathustra, Indian Indra,
Brihaspati, and Guru, (Indian name of Jupiter),
Chinese Huang-di, American Indian Tlaloc and Mixcoatl.
Saturnine gods (gods of earth, time and fate) whose
names one can recommend to nominate the asteroids with orbits between Jupiter
and Saturn: Sumerian Enki, tables Me, Ninurta
(Sumerian name of the planet Saturn) and Namtaru; Egyptian Geb
and Akru; Greek Kronos, Iranian Zurvan;
Indian Devi and Kali; Russian Rod,
American Indian Itzamna, Chinese Hou-tu. One can
refer to the row of Troyan heros Egyptian Setkh (that has
opposition to Horus) and a Semitic god of death Mutu, that
struggles with Balu.
Uranian gods (gods of the Sky) whose names one can
recommend to nominate the asteroids with orbits between Saturn and Uranus:
Sumerian Anu, Egyptian Shu and Nut,
Greek Aether and Janus, Indian Varuna,
Vayu, Aditi and Dyaus, American
Indian Awonawilona, Chinese Tian, Russian Svarog
and Stribog; Finnish Ilmarinen and Vainemoinen.
Neptunian gods (gods of sea and primary Ρhaos) whose names one can recommend to
nominate the asteroids with orbits between Uranus and Neptune: Sumerian Tihamat,
Egyptian Nun and Tefnut; Greek Chaos,
Hydra, Triton and Proteus; Indian Apas,
Indo-iranian Thrita, Chinese Huntun; German Irmundgand.
One can refer to the row of Trojan heros Tihamat and Yammu
(opposition to Marduk), and Japanese rebel Susanowo.
Plutonian gods (gods of the subterranean world)
whose names one can recommend to nominate the asteroids with orbits near Pluto,
or that could be referred to the row of Trojan heros: Sumerian Ereshkigal;
Greek Tartaros, Hypnos, Thanatos and
Charon; Roman Orcus; Indian Kubera;
Russian Veles.
Of course all these
name can be used for the largest layer of the small planets between Mars and
Jupiter.
We would hope and recommend that you circulate this list among the
astronomers who are involved in the discovery and naming of planets. If more
detailed descriptions of proposed gods or wider list of personages with some
particular characteristics (national culture or mythological/planet quality)
were wanted, the authors of this list could send them to a given address. Also
the authors have a list of famous persons (classical and modern) after whom it
is also possible to name minor planets.
FAMOUS PERSONS,
after
those the asteroids haven't yet been named
Legendary persons of the
anscient time:
Augustus, Nero, Macedonicus (Alexander),
Mongol-khan (Chingizkhan), Turan-khan (Tamerlan), Tzar (Ivan Groznyj)
Politicians and men of genius:
Empereur (Napoleon), Savonarola, Robespierre (Revolution),
deGolle, Indira (Gandi), Roosevelt, Che (Gevara), Capablanca, Vanga, UryHeller
Spiritual teachers:
Kaaba (Mohammad), Gautama (Buddha), Mani,
Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Auroville (Sri Aurobindo) , Gurdjiev, SaiBaba,
Theosophia (Blavatskaya)
Abstract notions:
Synergetica, Mania, Yoga,
Temperament, Ethnologia, Mythologia,
Vetustas
Philosophers:
Husserl, ThomasMore, Proudhon, Owen, Unamuno, Heidegger, deChardin,
Bergson
Scientists and explorers:
AlArabi,
Biruni, Nostradamus, Przhevalskij and Kruzenshtern
(rus.travellers), Michurin (rus.selectionner), Fermas, doctorSpock, Telephonia
(Bell), Toynbee, Levi-Strauss, Nostratica (rus.lingvist Illich-Svitych),
Passionaria (idea of rus.historist Lev Gumilev)
Composers:
Poulenc, Bellini, Boccherini, Masnet, Mascagni
Conductors and performers:
vonKarajan, Abbado, Sarasate, Lanza, Domingo, delMonaco, Kallas, Streizand,
Roussos
Producers and actors:
Antonioni, Stanislavskij, Goldoni, Kurosawa, Petitpas, Mastroianni,
Nuriev
Writers:
AnatoleFrance, CharlesPerrot, Stendal, EdgarPoe, deVega, Beaumarchais,
Simenone, Maupassant, KoboAbe, Marquez, Akutagawa, ShlomAleihem, ThomasMann, BernardShow,
AgathaChristie, Kipling, Castaneda (Nagual), Aytmatov, RosaMundi (D.Andreev)
Poets:
Navoi, Khikmet, Baudelaire, Beranger, Whiteman, Bryusov
Artists:
Modillani, Boticelli, ElGreco, Caravaggio, Kuindzhi, Velasquez,
Bryullov, Siqueiros, leCorbusier, Faberger, Cardin
P.S. The list with our propositions of mythological denomination of the asteroids and denomination after famous persons was sent in 1997 by the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy in St-Petersburg to the astronomical organizations of different countries. After that a number of asteroids were named after mythological names. For example, many asteroids were named after Japanese gods: Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi, Izanaki-Izanami, Susanowo and many gods from their environment. Indian gods Aditi and Varuna arreared, as well as the ancient name of India Bharat. Famous antique mythological names: Chaos and Orcus enriched the list of asteroids named after gods, and from biblical theme Leviaphan and Jerusalem were added. Russian astronomers named an asteroid after the Slavian Moon Mesjats. We hope, that astronomers will continue this humanistic initiative of denomination.
Unfortunately last years occasional denomination more often appeared (stimulated by selling the right to name the planet with ones own name). And in 2005 there was again a lack of the new interesting names, important for the humanity at whole (only German astronomers continue to name planets after famous persons). Thats why we repeat our appeal to the astronomers to turn to the cultural inheritance of the Earth.
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