The planets Uranus and Neptune have been waiting eons to receive Hebrew names — and now they have them, thanks to an Internet poll held to mark the International Astronomical Year of 2009.
The names, announced at a ceremony at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Dec. 30, are Oron for Uranus and Rahav for Neptune.
There were nearly 10,000 votes cast to determine the names of the two planets. About 2,900 voted for Rahav and 2,800 for Oron.
The other planets revolving around the Sun have had Hebrew names for many years. The four name candidates for Uranus and Neptune were chosen from among hundreds originally proposed as candidates.
Oron means “little light,” referring the small amount of light reaching Earth from Uranus, which is 1.6 billion miles away. Rahav refers to a biblical sea monster, which is similar to the Roman sea god Neptune. — jpost.com