Starship Asterisk*

I really don't know where to turn.
More and more I find, that in books, newspapers, internet etc, Earth is spelt with a lowercase "e" (Even in publications on astronomy!)
If the names of other planets in our Solar System (Mercury, Venus, Mars et al.) are written with capital letter (as all proper names should be) then why on earth is Earth an exception? Surely our home planet - it is highly improbable that other sentient beings would refer to their own planet as "Earth" - deserves a capital letter if for nothing else but grammatically correct spelling. I also find that the Moon (referring to the satellite of Earth only, not to other moons in the Solar System) and Sun (referring to our own star) also get the "lower case" treatment quite often. In general moons, solar systems, planets refer to any of these bodies anywhere in the Universe. The Moon/Earth/the Solar System refers to one specific satellite/planet/solar system.
What do we have to do to stop these misspellings? Perhaps people who do proofreadings should pay more attention? Perhaps editors should take English lessons? It is really not rocket science!
What do you think?

Here's what I found.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Should_you_wr ... rth_always

I was going to say that i would not capitalize a shovelful of earth, but orin beat me to it. But i would capitalize the Earth that is the third rock from the Sun, whose name is Sol.

ajeadie18 wrote:What do you think?

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a publisher's style book that doesn't require the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun (not to mention the Universe) to be properly capitalized. But I also think it is getting increasingly unusual to find a publisher that actually uses a style book. I'd be happy if the errors I see in popular scientific articles were no more serious than improper capitalization!

ajeadie18 wrote:
What do you think?

I think that bystander is going to hit me with a ruler for quoting the bible (The Bible?):

Gen. xi. 1.: "The whole earth was of one language."
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US Declaration of Independence:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
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Abraham Lincoln (The Gettysburg Address):

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
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http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=W ... 7s&word=[b]earth[/b]&use1913=on&use1828=on

*earth* , n. [AS. eore; akin to OS. ertha, OFries. irthe, D. aarde, OHG. erda, G. erde, Icel. jör, Sw. & Dan. jord, Goth. aīrpa, OHG. ero, Gr. , adv., to earth, and perh. to E. ear to plow.]

1. The globe or planet which we inhabit; the world, in distinction from the sun, moon, or stars. Also, this world as the dwelling place of mortals, in distinction from the dwelling place of spirits.

. "That law preserves the earth a sphere And guides the planets in their course." S. Rogers.

. "In heaven, or earth, or under earth, in hell." Milton.

2. The solid materials which make up the globe, in distinction from the air or water; the dry land.

. "God called the dry land earth." Gen. i. 10.

. "He is pure air and fire, and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him." Shak.

3. The softer inorganic matter composing part of the surface of the globe, in distinction from the firm rock; soil of all kinds, including gravel, clay, loam, and the like; sometimes, soil favorable to the growth of plants; the visible surface of the globe; the ground; as, loose earth; rich earth.

. "Give him a little earth for charity." Shak.

4. A part of this globe; a region; a country; land.

. "Would I had never trod this English earth." Shak.

5. Worldly things, as opposed to spiritual things; the pursuits, interests, and allurements of this life.

. "Our weary souls by earth beguiled." Keble.

6. The people on the globe.

7. (Chem.) (a) Any earthy-looking metallic oxide, as alumina, glucina, zirconia, yttria, and thoria. (b) A similar oxide, having a slight alkaline reaction, as lime, magnesia, strontia, baryta.

8. A hole in the ground, where an animal hides himself; as, the earth of a fox. Macaulay.

. "They [ferrets] course the poor conies out of their earths." Holland.
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Edmund Spenser: "That here on earth is no sure happiness."

Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Commit a crime, and the earth is made of glass."

Robert Browning: "Take away love and our earth is a tomb."

John Locke: "Where there is no judge on earth, the appeal lies to God in heaven." (Second Treatise of Government)

James Monroe: "The abundant fruits of the earth have filled it with plenty."

Ulysses S. Grant: "If the effort is made in good faith, we will stand better before the civilized nations of the earth and in our own consciences for having made it."

Winston S. Churchill: "The earth is a generous mother; she will provide in plentiful abundance food for all her children if they will but cultivate her soil in justice and in peace." ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

Dwight Eisenhower: "By their observance, an earth of peace may become not a vision but a fact."

John F. Kennedy: "With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."

John F. Kennedy: "But peace in space will help us naught once peace on earth is gone."

Lyndon B. Johnson: "Scarred by the weaknesses of man, with whatever guidance God may offer us, we must nevertheless and alone with our mortality, strive to ennoble the life of man on earth."
.........................................................
Gerald Ford: "Let us mobilize the most powerful and most creative industrial nation that ever existed on this Earth to put all our people to work."

Ronald Reagan: "Nowhere do we so effectively demonstrate our technological leadership and ability to make life better on Earth."

Bill Clinton: "In a truly open market, we can out-compete anyone, anywhere on Earth."

Neufer wrote - 31 blue earths and 3 red Earths. How come so many blue earths and so few red Earths

beyond wrote:Neufer wrote - 31 blue earths and 3 red Earths. How come so many blue earths and so few red Earths

The 1611 KJV English Bible codified the fact that we were people of earth.
........................................................................................
The 1969 Apollo 11 plaque codified the fact that we were people of Earth.

But, in the case of this plack, ALL LETTERS ARE CAPITALS

BMAONE23 wrote:
But, in the case of this plack, ALL LETTERS ARE CAPITALS

True, but then "plack" is an ancient Scottish coin
(or a set of software tools for running Perl-based Web applications & frameworks).
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http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/capitals.htm wrote:

• Capitalize this!

..................................................................................
1. The first word of every sentence.

2. The first-person singular pronoun, I.

3. The first, last, and important words in a title. (The concept "important words" usually does not include articles, short prepositions (which means you might want to capitalize "towards" or "between," say), the "to" of an infinitive, and coordinating conjunctions. This is not true in APA Reference lists (where we capitalize only the first word), nor is it necessarily true for titles in other languages. Also, on book jackets, aesthetic considerations will sometimes override the rules.)

4. Proper nouns

___ * Specific persons and things: George W. Bush, the White House, General Motors Corporation.

___ * Specific geographical locations: Hartford, Connecticut, Africa, Forest Park Zoo, Lake Erie, the Northeast, the Southend. However, we do not capitalize compass directions or locations that aren't being used as names: the north side of the city; we're leaving the Northwest and heading south this winter. When we combine proper nouns, we capitalize attributive words when they precede place-names, as in Lakes Erie and Ontario, but the opposite happens when the order is reversed: the Appalachian and Adirondack mountains. When a term is used descriptively, as opposed to being an actual part of a proper noun, do not capitalize it, as in "The California deserts do not get as hot as the Sahara Desert."
....................................................................................................................................................................
___ * Names of celestial bodies: Mars, Saturn, the Milky Way.

DO NOT, however, capitalize earth, moon, sun,
EXCEPT when those names appear in a context
in which other (capitalized) celestial bodies are mentioned.

"I like it here on earth," but
"It is further from Earth to Mars than it is from Mercury to the Sun."

.........................................................................................................................................................................
___ * Names of newspapers and journals. Do not, however, capitalize the word the, even when it is part of the newspaper's title: the Hartford Courant.

___ * Days of the week, months, holidays. Do not, however, capitalize the names of seasons (spring, summer, fall, autumn, winter). "Next winter, we're traveling south; by spring, we'll be back up north."

___ * Historical events: World War I, the Renaissance, the Crusades.

___ * Races, nationalities, languages: Swedes, Swedish, African American, Jewish, French, Native American. (Most writers do not capitalize whites, blacks.)

___ * Names of religions and religious terms: God, Christ, Allah, Buddha, Christianity, Christians, Judaism, Jews, Islam, Muslims.

___ * Names of courses: Economics, Biology 101. (However, we would write: "I'm taking courses in biology and earth science this summer.")

___ * Brand names: Tide, Maytag, Chevrolet.

5. Names of relationships only when they are a part of or a substitute for a person's name. (Often this means that when there is a modifier, such as a possessive pronoun, in front of such a word, we do not capitalize it.)

___ * Let's go visit Grandmother today. Let's go visit my grandmother today.

___ * I remember Uncle Arthur. I remember my Uncle Arthur. My uncle is unforgettable.

This also means that we don't normally capitalize the name of a "vocative" or term of endearment:

___ * Can you get the paper for me, hon?

___ * Drop the gun, sweetie. I didn't mean it.

Uncle Arthur (Drop the gun, sweetie. I didn't mean it.)

neufer wrote:Uncle Arthur (Drop the gun sweetie. I didn't mean it.)

Sweetie, YOU do what you see is right You need the practice anyway. Target practise - anyone

beyond wrote:

neufer wrote:Uncle Arthur (Drop the gun sweetie. I didn't mean it.)

Sweetie, YOU do what you see is right You need the practice anyway. Target practise - anyone

Ok....that was a little harsh. How about SNO-BALL fight at 30 feet

Sounds good to me; I'll referee... from the middle, so that I can catch the Sno-balls.

beyond wrote:
How about SNO-BALL fight at 30 feet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_ball_fight wrote:
<<During the American Civil War, on January 29, 1863, the largest military snow exchange occurred in the Rappahannock Valley in Northern Virginia. What began as a few hundred men from Texas plotting a friendly fight against their Arkansas camp mates soon escalated into a brawl that involved 9,000 soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia.>>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukigassen wrote:
<<Yukigassen [yuki (snow) + kassen (battle)] is a snowball fighting-competition from Japan. Today there are annual tournaments in Sobetsu, Hokkaidō in Japan, Kemijärvi in Finland, Vardø in Norway, Mount Buller, Victoria in Australia and Luleå in Sweden. Yukigassen is a game between two teams with seven players each. The game is played on a court with certain measurements, and the winner is determined through rules made by Japan Yukigassen Federation.>>

owlice wrote:Sounds good to me; I'll referee... from the middle, so that I can catch the Sno-balls.

Sounds like an Ulterior Motive, to me.

G'day

And yet we are all down to Earth for better or worse in sickness and in health until we buy the ticket.