On the Two Johns science fiction podcast #12, a Science Facts episode, John Austin and I were discussing the axial tilt of Uranus. I brought up the proposal I had made to rename the poorly named seventh planet in honor of Minerva. Why?

1. In English, the most common language for science, both of the pronunciations of Uranus sound obscene.
2. Uranus, being the god of the entire sky, is absurd as the patron of a single planet.
3. The other planets in the solar system were named for Roman gods. Uranus is merely the Latinized name of a Greek deity.
4. In Greek myth, Uranus was a primordial deity far removed from the other gods who have given their names to planets in our solar system.
5. There is an asteroid named Minerva in orbital association with the asteroids Aegis and Gorgoneion, but these other two names are Greek names for things associated with Athena. The asteroid should be renamed Athena, freeing up the Latin name Minerva.
6. The names of major planets are dominated by gods. Venus is the only major planet named for a goddess. Let’s have another.
7. In contrast to triumphant Mars, Minerva was often depicted with her sword lowered in sympathy for the dead. This matches nicely to the planet’s tilted axis of rotation.

Well, John took this proposal to heart and started an online petition. Please add your name to it, share the petition with others, and get our Lady of Wisdom a planet!