And tireless Orion lies spent in his tracks

[sovay]

The girl who named Pluto is gone.

Comments

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

May she rest in peace.

Fascinating--I was vaguely aware of the story, but I didn't know some of the details. Particularly that her great-uncle had named Deimos and Phobos. Thank you for sharing it.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

But what a glorious thing she did!

"Mr. Madan gave his granddaughter a five-pound note, and the family added yet another feather to its cap: in 1877, Mr. Madan’s brother Henry, a housemaster at Eton, had successfully proposed that the two dwarf moons of Mars be named Phobos and Deimos, two attendants of the Roman war god, whose names mean fear and terror."

And I note that she went to Downe House, which was once Charles Darwin's home.

May the namer of Vanth live as long and well.

Nine

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I observe that not only did Venetia Phair, née Venetia Burney, choose the perfect name for Pluto, she had a more than splendid name herself. Venetia Phair, Venetia Phair: how redolent of vanished aristocracies that name is! How perfectly it scans! I think of Heyer's Venetia and L'Engle's Dragons in the Waters, and I find myself almost unable to believe there existed a person with such a perfect name as Venetia Phair.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

What does your subject line come from? Often at night, you can see Orion reclining--and I've thought, he's tired.

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

:(

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

"Venetia Phair, listen where thou art lying..."

Nine