The Mythology of the Night Sky
Abstract
The word "planet" comes from the Latin word planeta and the Greek word planes, which means "wanderer." When the ancient Greeks studied the night sky they noticed that most of the stars remained in the same position relative to all the other stars, but a few stars seem to move in the sky from day to day, week to week, and month to month. The Greeks called these rogue stars "wanderers" because they wandered through the starry background.
- Publication:
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The Mythology of the Night Sky: An Amateur Astronomer's Guide to the Ancient Greek and Roman Legends
- Pub Date:
- 2011
- DOI:
- 10.1007/978-1-4614-0137-7
- Bibcode:
- 2011mns..book.....F
- Keywords:
-
- Physics