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Astronomical symbols

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File:BronzeMirror.JPG
Chinese Celestial symbols on an antique bronze mirror

Astronomical symbols are symbols used to represent various celestial objects, theoretical constructs and observational events in astronomy. These symbols were commonly used by professional and amateur astronomers. While astronomical symbols are still used in almanacs, they have fallen into disuse in published research and texts on astronomy. [1] Many of the symbols are shared with western astrology, which uses multiple variant forms.

Symbols for Sun, Moon, and planets

The commonly accepted symbols for the classical planets, including the sun and the moon, are of ancient origin. Bianchini's planisphere, produced in the 2nd century,[2] shows Greek personifications of planetary gods charged with early versions of the planetary symbols: Mercury has a caduceus; Venus has, attached to her necklace, a cord connected to another necklace; Mars, a spear; Jupiter, a staff; Saturn, a scythe; the Sun, a circlet with rays radiating from it; and the Moon, a headdress with a crescent attached.[3] A diagram in Johannes Kamateros' 12th century Compendium of Astrology shows the Sun represented by a circle with a single ray and Jupiter by the letter zeta (the initial of Zeus, Jupiter's counterpart in Greek mythology).[3] By the 16th century, the symbols had become standardized.[3]

Symbols were created for Uranus and Neptune shortly after their discovery. For Uranus, astronomers adopted the symbol for platinum, although another symbol, based on the letter H (for Herschel, the discoverer of Uranus), continued to be used. After Neptune was discovered, the Bureau des Longitudes proposed the name Neptune and the familiar trident for the planet's symbol.[4]

The International Astronomical Union discourages the use of these symbols in journal articles; however, the IAU Style Manual permits certain one- and (to disambiguate Mercury and Mars) two-letter abbreviations for the names of the planets for use in certain contexts, such as in the headings of tables. [5]

Sun

Name Symbol Unicode Unicode Display Symbol Represents
Sun Sol[6][7][8] #9737; ☉ the Sun

Moon

Name Symbol Unicode Unicode Display Symbol Represents
Moon, or first-quarter moon First quarter moon[9][10][11] #9789; ☽ an increscent moon
full moon Full Moon[10][11]
Moon, or last-quarter moon Last quarter Moon[10][11] #9790; ☾ a decrescent moon
new moon New Moon[10][11]

Planets

Name Symbol Unicode Unicode Display Symbol Represents
Mercury Mercury[6][12][7] #9791; ☿ Mercury's winged helmet and caduceus[6], or the caduceus alone[12][9]
Venus Venus[6][12][7] #9792; ♀ Venus' hand mirror[6][12][9]
Earth Earth[6][12][7] #8853; ⊕ globe with equator and a meridian[6][12]
Earth[7][10][9] #9793; ♁ globus cruciger[13], or an inverted symbol for Venus[9]
Mars Mars[6][12][7] #9794; ♂ Mars' shield and spear[6][12][9]
Jupiter Jupiter[6][12][7] #9795; ♃ Jupiter's thunderbolt[9], an eagle[6], or the letter zeta or Z for Zeus, Jupiter's Greek name[6][12]
Saturn Saturn[6][12][7] #9796; ♄ Saturn's sickle or scythe[6][12][9]
Uranus Uranus[6][7][11] a combination of the symbols for Mars and the Sun[6]
Uranus[12][10][11] #9797; ♅ "H" from the discoverer's last name (Herschel)[12]
Neptune Neptune[6][7][11] #9798; ♆ Neptune's trident[6]

Symbols for dwarf planets and asteroids

Shortly after Giuseppe Piazzi's discovery of Ceres, a group of astronomers ratified the name, proposed by the discoverer, and chose the sickle as a symbol of the planet.[14]

The symbol for 2 Pallas, the spear of Pallas Athena, was invented by Baron Franz Xaver von Zach, and introduced in his Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde. [15] In a letter to von Zach, discoverer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers (who had named the newly-discovered asteroid) expressed his approval of the proposed symbol, but wished that the handle of the sickle of Ceres had been adorned with a pommel instead of a crossbar, to better differentiate it from the sign of Venus.[15]

Karl Ludwig Harding, who discovered and named 3 Juno, assigned to it the symbol of a scepter topped with a star. [16]

The symbol for 4 Vesta was invented by German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. Dr. Olbers, having previously discovered and named one new planet (as the asteroids were then classified), gave Gauss the honor of naming his newest discovery. Gauss decided to name the planet for the goddess Vesta, and also designed the symbol (Vesta): the altar of the goddess, with the sacred fire burning on it.[17][18] Other contemporaneous sources use a more elaborate symbol (Vesta) instead.[19][20]

The next two asteroids, 5 Astraea and 6 Hebe, were both discovered by Karl Ludwig Hencke. Hencke requested that the symbol for 5 Astraea be an upside-down anchor;[21] however, a pair of balances was sometimes used instead.[8][22] Gauss named 6 Hebe at Hencke's request, and chose a wineglass as the symbol.[23][24]

Pluto's name and symbol were announced by the discoverers on May 1, 1930. [25] The symbol, a monogram of the letters PL, could be interpreted to stand for Pluto or for Percival Lowell, the astronomer who initiated the Lowell Observatory's search for a planet beyond the orbit of Neptune.[6]

Dwarf Planets

Name Symbol Unicode Unicode Display Symbol Represents
Ceres Ceres[12][10][8] #9907; ⚳ Handle-down sickle[12]; cf. the handle-up sickle symbol of Saturn
Pluto Pluto[6][7] #9799; ♇ PL monogram for Pluto and Percival Lowell[6]

Asteroids

Name Symbol Unicode Unicode Display Symbol Represents
2 Pallas Pallas[12][10][8] #9908; ⚴ head of a spear[12][9][22]
3 Juno Juno[9][22][26] #9909; ⚵ a scepter topped with a star[9][22]
Juno[12][27]
4 Vesta Vesta[17] an altar with fire on it[12][9][22][27]
Vesta[8][22][27]
5 Astraea [21][22] an anchor[21][22]
[12][22] a pair of balances[12][22]
6 Hebe [12][8][22] a cup[12][22]
7 Iris [12][8] a rainbow with a star inside it[12][22]
8 Flora [8][22] #9880; ⚘ a flower[12][22]
9 Metis [12][8][22] an eye with a star above it[12][22]
10 Hygeia [8][22] #9877; ⚕ Rod of Asclepius
11 Parthenope [8][22] a fish with a star[22]
[22] a harp[22]
12 Victoria [8][22] a star with a branch of laurel[22]
13 Egeria [22] a star and a plate[22]
14 Irene [12][22] a dove carrying an olive-branch in its mouth and a star on its head[12][22]
15 Eunomia [8][22] a heart with a star on top[22]
16 Psyche [22] a butterfly's wing[22]
17 Thetis [22] a dolphin and a star[22]
26 Proserpina [22] a pomegranate with a star inside it[22]
28 Bellona [8][22] Bellona's whip and spear[22]
29 Amphitrite [22] a shell and a star[22]
35 Leukothea [8][22] a lighthouse[22]
37 Fides [8][22] a cross[22]

Other Symbols

Other Symbols

Name Symbol Unicode Unicode Display Symbol Represents
comet [10] #9732; ☄
ascending node [7][10] #9738; ☊
descending node [7][10] #9739; ☋
conjunction [10][11] #9740; ☌
opposition [10][11] #9741; ☍
quadrature [10][11] #9633; □

See also

References

  1. ^ Pasko, Wesley Washington (1894). American dictionary of printing and bookmaking. p. 29.
  2. ^ "Bianchini's planisphere". Florence, Italy: Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza (Institute and Museum of the History of Science). Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  3. ^ a b c Maunder, A. S. D. (1934). "The origin of the symbols of the planets". The Observatory. 57: 238–247.
  4. ^ Report on the history of the discovery of Neptune. Smithsonian institute. 1850. pp. 5, 22. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
  5. ^ The IAU Style Manual (PDF). 1989. p. 27.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Planet Symbols". NASA. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Allen's astrophysical quantities. Springer. 2001. p. 2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Hilton, James L. "When Did the asteroids Become Minor Planets?". Retrieved 2010-03-05.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Penny cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume 22. C. Knight. 1842. p. 197.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n The Encyclopedia Americana: a library of universal knowledge, Volume 26. Encyclopedia Americana Corp. 1920. pp. 162–163.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j The essence of astronomy: things every one should know about the sun, moon, and stars. G.P. Putnam's sons. 1914. p. 197. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae High-School Astronomy. Sheldon & Co., 1872. pp. 32-36.
  13. ^ "Signs of the Planets". Universe Today. 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  14. ^ Bode, J. E., ed. (1801). [[1] Berliner astronomisches Jahrbuch führ das Jahr 1804]. pp. 97–98. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  15. ^ a b von Zach, Franz Xaver (1802). Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde, Volume 6. pp. 95-96.
  16. ^ von Zach, Franz Xaver (1804). Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde, Volume 10. p. 471.
  17. ^ a b von Zach, Franz Xaver (1807). Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde, Volume 15. p. 507.
  18. ^ Carlini, Francesco (1808). Effemeridi astronomiche di Milano per l'anno 1809.
  19. ^ Bureau des longitudes (1807). Annuaire pour l'an 1808. p. 5.
  20. ^ Canovai, Stanislao; del-Ricco, Gaetano (1810). Elementi di fisica matematica. p. 149.
  21. ^ a b c Bericht über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. 1945. p. 406. Der Planet hat mit Einwilligung des Entdeckers den Namen Astraea erhalten, und sein Zeichen wird nach dem Wunsche des Hr. Hencke ein umgekehrter Anker sein.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar Dictionary of minor planet names. Springer. 2003. pp. 15–18. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
  23. ^ Wöchentliche Unterhaltungen für Dilettanten und Freunde der Astronomie, Geographie und Witterungskunde. 1847. p. 423.
  24. ^ Steger, Franz (1847). Ergänzungs-conversationslexikon, Volume 3. p. 442. Hofrath Gauß gab auf Hencke's Ansuchen diesem neuen Planetoiden den Namen Hebe mit dem Zeichen (ein Weinglas).
  25. ^ A handbook of descriptive astronomy. Clarendon Press. 1877. pp. 920–921. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
  26. ^ a b c Letters on astronomy. Harper. 1855. p. 288. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
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