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Astronomical symbols are symbols used to represent various celestial objects, theoretical constructs and observational events in astronomy. The symbols listed here are commonly usedweasel words by professional and amateur astronomers.citation needed Many of the symbols are shared with western astrology, which uses multiple variant forms.
| Planets | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Symbol | Symbol Represents | ||
| Mercury |  |
Mercury's winged helmet and caduceus | ||
| Venus |  |
Venus' hand mirror | ||
| Earth |  |
Globe with equator and a meridian | ||
 |
globus cruciger | |||
| Mars |  |
Mars' shield and spear | ||
| Jupiter |  |
Jupiter's thunderbolt, eagle or "Z" for Zeus, Jupiter's Greek name.[1] Or a "4" for the fourth day of the week (Thursday) in some cultures. It also strongly represents the letter bha in the Devangari script. | ||
| Saturn |  |
Saturn's sickle or scythe | ||
| Uranus |  |
One of the two symbols for platinum or a combination of the symbols for Mars and the Sun | ||
 |
"H" from the discoverer's last name (Herschel) | |||
| Neptune |  |
Neptune's trident | ||
| Dwarf Planets | ||||
| Name | Symbol | Symbol Represents | ||
| Ceres |  |
Handle-down sickle; cf. the handle-up sickle symbol of Saturn | ||
| Pluto |  |
PL monogram for Pluto and Percival Lowell | ||
| Makemake | No symbol | |||
| Eris | No symbol | Unlikely to gain an official symbol (although there have been a number of proposals, such as the Hand of Eris  ) |
||
| Asteroids | ||||
| Name | Symbol | Symbol Represents | ||
| 2 Pallas |  |
Modified symbol for female/Shield of Athena? | ||
| 3 Juno |  |
Peacock (totem of Juno). | ||
| 4 Vesta |  |
Hearth or fire-altar. | ||
| 5 Astraea |  |
Anchor (inverted), or possibly scales of justice. | ||
| 6 Hebe |  |
Cup | ||
| 7 Iris |  |
Rainbow with star under it (asteroid means star-like) | ||
| 8 Flora |  |
Stylised flower | ||
| 9 Metis |  |
Eye, with star above it (asteroid means star-like) | ||
| 10 Hygeia |  |
Rod of Asclepius | ||
| 11 Parthenope |  |
|||
| 12 Victoria |  |
|||
| 14 Irene | Never drawn | Described as "A dove carrying an olive-branch, with a star on its head" | ||
| 15 Eunomia |  |
|||
| 28 Bellona |  |
|||
| 35 Leukothea |  |
|||
| 37 Fides |  |
|||
| Moons | ||||
| Name | Symbol | Symbol Represents | ||
| Moon (crescent) |  |
A crescent moon | ||
| Moon (decrescent) |  |
A decrescent moon | ||
| Other Celestial Bodies | ||||
| Name | Symbol | Symbol Represents | ||
| Sun |  |
Solar symbol | ||
| Other Symbols | ||||
| Name | Symbol | |||
| comet | ☄ | |||
| ascending node | ☊ | |||
| descending node | ☋ | |||
| conjunction | ☌ | |||
| opposition | ☍ | |||
See also
References
- ^ "Planet Symbols". NASA. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
External links
- James L. Hilton, When Did the asteroids Become Minor Planets? (contains astronomical symbols for the asteroids)
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 1 September 2008, at 01:43.
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