Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ucsfcgl.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!decwrl!ucbvax!ucsfcgl!arnold
From: arnold@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Ken Arnold%CGL)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Re: Uranus and naming moons
Message-ID: <773@ucsfcgl.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 12-Feb-86 21:31:10 EST
Article-I.D.: ucsfcgl.773
Posted: Wed Feb 12 21:31:10 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Feb-86 07:08:12 EST
References: <271@bambi.UUCP>
Reply-To: arnold@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Ken Arnold)
Distribution: net
Organization: UCSF Computer Graphics Lab
Lines: 16

In article <271@bambi.UUCP> mike@bambi.UUCP (Michael Caplinger) writes:
>Sorry, but astronomical bodies like moons are never named after people.
>Even asteroids christened for individuals use a variant of the person's
>name that looks like a first name, or has been "Latinized" or "classisized"
>in some way.

Not to press a point too much, but this is not universal.  I invite you
to look at asteroid #2143, named "JIMARNOLD".  It was to be named
"ARNOLD", but there was already one name "ARNOLDA" after some godess or
other, and there is a rule against having names that differ only by one
character (thank goodness), so they had to tack on the first name.

		Ken Arnold

P.S.  Yes, by the way, I am related.  James R. Arnold is my father.
You think I memorize these things or something?