• jmcs
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      1 year ago

      That’s just Moon in Latin.

      • Deme@sopuli.xyz
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        1 year ago

        True, but it’s also the name of the Roman godess, which does make it allign better with all the other astronomical names.

      • saltesc@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        To be fair, we didn’t know there were more until Galileo showed up late to the party with his telescope.

        • jmcs
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          1 year ago

          And technically the Moon is the only Moon. The “correct” term for what’s colloquially called “moon” is “natural satellite”.

          • Deme@sopuli.xyz
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            1 year ago

            A moonlet moonette is a natural satellite of a moon without being a moon itself. A planet is also a natural satellite of a star. The use of the word “moon” as a common term for natural satellites of planets is well established in professional terminology.

            • Zekas@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              What, no.

              A moon is a natural satellite. Our moon, Europa, Titan etc. A moonlet is a very small natural satellite. Earhart in Saturn’s orbit for example. A moon of a moon is a moonmoon or subsatellite.

              • Deme@sopuli.xyz
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                1 year ago

                Fair, I messed up the names there. Moonette is the synonym of that that I was thinking of.

                But a satellite (natural or artificial) is any object that orbits around a celestial body. The Earth is a satellite just as the Moon is one. Subsatellite is just the satellite of a satellite, but that depends on context. Moons fit that definition, but aren’t usually considered subsatellites because we don’t usually think of planets as the satellites of the Sun that they are.

      • can@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        So? Nova Scotia is just New Scotland in Latin. That’s still the name.

        Edit: unless you’re French, then it’s Nouvelle-Écosse

    • Mongostein@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      I don’t know what the scientific community’s thoughts on it are, but I like the idea of “moon” being the generic term while Luna is the name of our moon.

      Saying “the moon” still works because we only have one.