Humans already named objects within the solar system after Latin words and names. Earth would be called Terra, meaning “earth” or “land”. Many sci-fi stories did this already lol. Luna is already reserved to Earth’s Moon. The other “moons” in the solar system already have their names from Latin like Europa or Ganymede.
It’s kind of funny how “Terra” and “Earth” are all synonymous with “Dirt”. I wonder if every intelligent life form does this. If we eventually meet up with aliens, are we all going to be like: ‘Yes, this is “Dirt”, our beloved home planet.’
Problem is that Luna means moon (a planet’s satellite) in romance languages like Spanish. If we’re giving proper toponyms for the earth’s satellite itself and its subdivisions, we should try and avoid generic names like Luna .
Yes, but none of the others are named after exactly what they are. The Earth has a lot of earth on it, yes, but it’s a planet, not a clump of earth. Using a non-English word for “moon” and assuming it’s sufficient would be pretty lame and very English-centric.
We already call satellites orbiting a planet “moon”, as in Europa is a moon of Jupiter. Or Phobos is a moon of Mars. But right now when we say moon, it usually means our moon.
You’re right that in the future we would have to use a generic term for all extraterrestrial objects once we start colonising space. Which is why I think in the future, “moon” will become the catch-all term for the non-Earth moon, while we will call our own as Luna instead.
Humans already named objects within the solar system after Latin words and names. Earth would be called Terra, meaning “earth” or “land”. Many sci-fi stories did this already lol. Luna is already reserved to Earth’s Moon. The other “moons” in the solar system already have their names from Latin like Europa or Ganymede.
It’s kind of funny how “Terra” and “Earth” are all synonymous with “Dirt”. I wonder if every intelligent life form does this. If we eventually meet up with aliens, are we all going to be like: ‘Yes, this is “Dirt”, our beloved home planet.’
Problem is that Luna means moon (a planet’s satellite) in romance languages like Spanish. If we’re giving proper toponyms for the earth’s satellite itself and its subdivisions, we should try and avoid generic names like Luna .
Then Lua!
It’s also moon in Portuguese.
It’s over
ALL HAIL HOLY TERRA!
Yes, but none of the others are named after exactly what they are. The Earth has a lot of earth on it, yes, but it’s a planet, not a clump of earth. Using a non-English word for “moon” and assuming it’s sufficient would be pretty lame and very English-centric.
We already call satellites orbiting a planet “moon”, as in Europa is a moon of Jupiter. Or Phobos is a moon of Mars. But right now when we say moon, it usually means our moon.
You’re right that in the future we would have to use a generic term for all extraterrestrial objects once we start colonising space. Which is why I think in the future, “moon” will become the catch-all term for the non-Earth moon, while we will call our own as Luna instead.
Then what will Spanish speakers call it?
My guess is we’ll go the laziest route possible and “Earth’s Moon” will be its formal English name.
Spanish speakers can call it Moon
Escusé moi your angloparlance, we call it Luna.
Did you forget to read the thread?
I’m pretty sure Luna, Terra and Sol are all poetic names that used in works of fiction but aren’t used by actual organizations.
Other moon names like you listed are the scientific names, recognized and used by institutions like NASA.