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As an ode to ancient cultures, astronomers named many of the objects in the night sky after ancient deities. Can you guess which planet shares a name with pictured deity? Be careful, they get harder!

Do You Know Which Mythological Figure Is The Namesake Of These Celestial Bodies?

Hint: This Deity exists in both Roman and Greek Mythology. He also shares a name with a day of the week.

Saturn is the 6th planet from the Sun and the second largest in our solar system. A gas giant, Saturn is filled with gas. Duh. But actually, it has no solid surface apart from a solid core, deep below highest clouds. But, don’t try getting there; Saturn’s clouds would tear you to pieces before you got very far. Its most human friendly feature is probably its rings. Around the center of the planet rests massive rings of ice that extend thousands of miles outward from the planet, but only a few meters high. Its safe to say that Saturn is not a friendly place. It would make sense that the planet is named after a guy who ate his children.  
For more info:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/saturn

Saturn!

Which planet in our solar system shares its name with the Roman God of agriculture?

Hint: This planet is named after the Roman goddess of beauty. In Greek Mythology her name is Aphrodite. She is featured as the subject of Sandro Boticelli's most famous painting (above).

Although Venus is the second planet from the Sun it is still hotter than all the inner planets. Her surface is incredibly hot, characterized by vast magma flows. Spending a day on Venus is literally like spending 117 days on Earth. However, her air is composed of harsh chemicals and her thick atmosphere prevents anything from impacting her surface. She has two large mountains that are the size of Australia and Mount Everest respectively. We are still describing a planet; get your head out of your ass. Though Venus is the goddess of beauty… fitting, I suppose.   
For more info:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/venus

Venus!

Which planet was named after the goddess famously depicted in this painting?

The namesake of this celestial body is the Roman cousin of this Greek God featured in Disney's Hercules. One might say that this "planet" is as cold as its namesake...

Pluto was classified as a "dwarf planet" in 2006, though, we all consider it our 9th planet... 90s kids will never forget #NeverForget #NinthPlanet. Anyways, Pluto belongs to the not so exclusive club of objects that lie beyond the orbit of Neptune, the 8th planet, some 50 Earth-Sun distances from the Sun. As a result, it is literally, unbearably cold. Its surface is so varied that one moment it could be flat and the next there could be craters as far as the eye can see. Maybe it’s for the best that such a miserable place like Pluto isn’t a planet anymore…  
For more info:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/pluto

Pluto!

This celestial body was named after ruler of the underworld...

The mythological namesake is also the namesake to one of the seven continents.

Europa is one of Jupiter’s many moons… just as she is one of his many wives. Compared to Jupiter, Europa is tiny, but, in reality, it is nearly the same size as our own Moon. Being so close to Jupiter leaves the moon battered and scarred with massive cracks in its surface. However, compared to other celestial bodies, Europa’s surface is relatively young, at most, only 90 million years old. Why is Europa so interesting you may ask? Well, seas below its surface suggest that the moon could sustain life!   
For more info: 
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/europa

Europa!

This moon's namesake fell in love with Zeus... in the form of a bull...

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, approximately 1.5 times farther than the Earth. Its surface is dry and cold and closely resembles surface features found on Earth. Probably its most shocking feature is Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system. Mars is most notable, though, for its potential to sustain life. Just imagine living on a planet named after a god of war. We may consider renaming it before we all move there. New information about our future home is being collected everyday by the Mars rover in hopes of finding the perfect location for new strip malls and high-rises and, you know, water and stuff.   
For more info:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/mars

Mars!

In mythology, this planet's namesake has a slight anger problem...

Haha. You weren't trying right?

Either you don't care or you suck. Either way, just leave.

Good! Just not good enough. Remember, second place is the first loser.

Okay, you did it. Hurray... What do you want me to do? Throw a party?

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Do You Know Which Mythological Figure Is The Namesake Of These Celestial Bodies?

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