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The adjectival forms of the names of astronomical bodies are not always easily predictable. Attested adjectival forms of the larger bodies are listed below, along with the two small Martian moons; in some cases they are accompanied by their demonymic equivalents, which denote hypothetical inhabitants of these bodies.
A long-standing mystery of Venus observations is the so-called ashen light—an apparent weak illumination of its dark side, seen when the planet is in the crescent phase. The first claimed observation of ashen light was made in 1643, but the existence of the illumination has never been reliably confirmed.
Every human language has its own word for the Earth's Moon, and these words are the ones normally used in astronomical contexts.However, a number of fanciful or mythological names for the Moon have been used in the context of astronomy (an even larger number of lunar epithets have been used in non-astronomical contexts).
Dark spot, may be irregular MA Mare, maria / ˈ m ɑːr iː,-eɪ /, / ˈ m ɑːr i ə / A "sea": on the Moon, a low albedo, relatively smooth plain, generally of large extent; on Mars, dark albedo area, e.g. Mare Erythraeum; on Titan, large expanses of dark materials thought to be liquid hydrocarbons, e.g. Ligeia Mare. ME Mensa, mensae / ˈ m ...
In the early days, only a very limited number of features could be seen on other Solar System bodies other than the Moon. Craters on the Moon could be observed with even some of the earliest telescopes, and 19th-century telescopes could make out some features on Mars. Jupiter had its famous Great Red Spot, also visible through early telescopes.
The origins of the planetary symbols can be found in the attributes given to classical deities. The Roman planisphere of Bianchini (2nd century, currently in the Louvre, inv. Ma 540) [2] shows the seven planets represented by portraits of the seven corresponding gods, each a bust with a halo and an iconic object or dress, as follows: Mercury has a caduceus and a winged cap; Venus has a ...
Some planetary rings are influenced by shepherd moons, small moons that orbit near the inner or outer edges of a ringlet or within gaps in the rings. The gravity of shepherd moons serves to maintain a sharply defined edge to the ring; material that drifts closer to the shepherd moon's orbit is either deflected back into the body of the ring ...
a decrescent (waning) moon (as viewed from the northern hemisphere) new moon [22] [23] U+1F311 (dec 127761) 🌑︎: fully dark [17] [24] [25] U+1F31A (dec 127770) 🌚︎: waxing crescent U+1F312 (dec 127762) 🌒︎: encrescent moon (northern hemisphere) first-quarter (waxing) moon U+1F313 (dec 127763) 🌓︎: one week into the month, half ...