I think this is a very nice photo; but I can't see that is has any similarity to rainbows. Anyone have an idea how it got named?
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Orin
I guess the name's OK. Just didn't understand the reasoning behind it. apodman gave a good reconing of how it was named. Fantasy; OK.emc wrote:It's also a good name if you wanted to sell real estate![]()
Sea front property on the moon... a place to ride your lunar surf board without the danger of preditory moon sharks
I see "Iridium" often enough on the Internet, but haven't seen it in any astronomical catalogs or publications. I don't think it has become an accepted form. Purely in terms of the Latin, "Iridium" is simply incorrect. The root word, irid-, forms the genitive plural iridum, never iridium.apodman wrote:My memory tells me that all old moon maps said "IRIDUM" - is this the truth, a faulty recollection, or the particular maps they chose to give me as a child?
Now I see both "IRIDUM" and "IRIDIUM" enough places to say that either spelling appears to be currently accepted as common and correct. If there was a change in policy, I didn't get the memo.
There wouldn't be any predatory sharks on the moon, just the sharks selling real estate!emc wrote:It's also a good name if you wanted to sell real estate![]()
Sea front property on the moon... a place to ride your lunar surf board without the danger of preditory moon sharks
Strike that...
Sea front property on the moon... over the calmest of seas!
I think the root word is actual iris (like the Greek rainbow goddess) which is actually Greek and/or NEW Latin.Chris Peterson wrote:I see "Iridium" often enough on the Internet, but haven't seen it in any astronomical catalogs or publications. I don't think it has become an accepted form. Purely in terms of the Latin, "Iridium" is simply incorrect. The root word, irid-, forms the genitive plural iridum, never iridium.apodman wrote:My memory tells me that all old moon maps said "IRIDUM" - is this the truth, a faulty recollection, or the particular maps they chose to give me as a child?
Now I see both "IRIDUM" and "IRIDIUM" enough places to say that either spelling appears to be currently accepted as common and correct. If there was a change in policy, I didn't get the memo.
That's not to say it couldn't become accepted, although I think it is unlikely. I'm a big fan of eliminating Latin grammar rules from astronomical nomenclature. For instance, I don't normally use the Latin genitive when referring to stars (I prefer "delta Scorpius" to "delta Scorpii"). But in the case of Sinus Iridum, the Latin grammar is largely lost in what is really just a proper name.
If you were to dome over a crater, and give it atmospheric pressure equal to earth, you could literally fly with arm mounted wings and stay aloft till your arms grew tired. Considering you would weigh between 25 and 40 pounds. A base jump would indeed last a very long time.Arramon wrote:LOL....
the smooth areas of the bay are so beautiful... and the Cape towering 3000 meters above the bay below! holy base jump batman. Wonder how long it would take to reach the bottom. =)
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Please Neufer, don't quit you domain of competence ! The root is Irid- in Greek or Latin. Lat. nominative Iris (for irid-s, with a regular loss of the dental before the s desinence), gen. Iridis (or, by imitation of the Greek, Iridos) and plur. gen can't be anything but Iridum. "Iridium" or "Irium" would be what my teachers used to call barbarisms. There's no "new latin" or neo-latin versus old latin involved here, just plain old classical Latin morphology !neufer wrote: I think the root word is actual iris (like the Greek rainbow goddess) which is actually Greek and/or NEW Latin.
The OLD Latin genitive plural would have been irium = "of rainbows"
but the more proper NEW Latin genitive plural is iridum = "of rainbows"
I don't have a domain of competence (; though I did have two years of high school Latin in 1960-1).Czerno wrote:Please Neufer, don't quit you domain of competence ! The root is Irid- in Greek or Latin. Lat. nominative Iris (for irid-s, with a regular loss of the dental before the s desinence), gen. Iridis (or, by imitation of the Greek, Iridos) and plur. gen can't be anything but Iridum. "Iridium" or "Irium" would be what my teachers used to call barbarisms. There's no "new latin" or neo-latin versus old latin involved here, just plain old classical Latin morphology !neufer wrote: I think the root word is actual iris (like the Greek rainbow goddess) which is actually Greek and/or NEW Latin.
The OLD Latin genitive plural would have been irium = "of rainbows"
but the more proper NEW Latin genitive plural is iridum = "of rainbows"
Regards
I took some 8 years of Latin, fewer of Greek, back in the 50-60s, I certainly wouldn't call myself a latin litterate ! Over the course of those studies we did learn by rote and recited, by heart, verses and prose alike, and many of those have remained engraved in our memories.neufer wrote: I don't have a domain of competence (; though I did have two years of high school Latin in 1960-1).
Stupid things are OK as long as they stay on topic ;=)But I'm constantly learning to be less incompetent by saying stupid things and having others correct me.