Elizabeth Tasker on Nostr: Coined by William Herschel, the word “asteroid” means “star-like”, reflecting ...
Coined by William Herschel, the word “asteroid” means “star-like”, reflecting that asteroids remain as point sources of light even through a telescope.
But the Japanese word for asteroid is 小惑星, meaning “small planet”. I feel this term must have been coined later with hindsight 🧐
Published at
2024-12-22 10:02:41Event JSON
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"content": "Coined by William Herschel, the word “asteroid” means “star-like”, reflecting that asteroids remain as point sources of light even through a telescope.\n\nBut the Japanese word for asteroid is 小惑星, meaning “small planet”. I feel this term must have been coined later with hindsight 🧐",
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