1108 Demeter
Encyclopedia
1108 Demeter is a main-belt asteroid orbiting the Sun
. It was discovered by Karl Reinmuth in Heidelberg
, Germany
on May 31, 1929. Its provisional designation was 1929 KA. It was named after the Greek goddess of fruitful soil and agriculture
.
is the Greek equivalent of Roman Ceres. When 1 Ceres
was named, the Greeks called it Demeter, effectively translating the name into Greek, rather as English uses Anglo-Latin Ceres rather than the original Italian Cerere. However, this created a problem when 1108 Demeter was named. The Greeks resolved this by using an archaic form of the name, Δημήτηρ Dēmêtēr, for the new body, distinguishing it from the classical form Δήμητρα Dêmētra that had been used for 1 Ceres. However, Greek-influenced Slavic languages
such as Russian had adopted Latin/Italian Cerera for 1 Ceres, and were thus free to use the classical Greek form Demetra for 1108 Demeter.
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. It was discovered by Karl Reinmuth in Heidelberg
Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl
The Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory is an historic astronomical observatory located near the summit of the Königstuhl hill in the city of Heidelberg in Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on May 31, 1929. Its provisional designation was 1929 KA. It was named after the Greek goddess of fruitful soil and agriculture
Demeter
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...
.
Naming conflict with 1 Ceres in Greek
The goddess DemeterDemeter
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...
is the Greek equivalent of Roman Ceres. When 1 Ceres
1 Ceres
Ceres, formally 1 Ceres, is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and the only one in the asteroid belt. With a diameter of about 950 km, Ceres is by far the largest and most-massive asteroid, comprising about a third of the mass of the asteroid belt. Discovered on 1 January 1801...
was named, the Greeks called it Demeter, effectively translating the name into Greek, rather as English uses Anglo-Latin Ceres rather than the original Italian Cerere. However, this created a problem when 1108 Demeter was named. The Greeks resolved this by using an archaic form of the name, Δημήτηρ Dēmêtēr, for the new body, distinguishing it from the classical form Δήμητρα Dêmētra that had been used for 1 Ceres. However, Greek-influenced Slavic languages
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
such as Russian had adopted Latin/Italian Cerera for 1 Ceres, and were thus free to use the classical Greek form Demetra for 1108 Demeter.