The names of many of Shakespeare’s characters have been applied to astronomical objects, and the International Astronomical Union is therefore delighted to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death.

As the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies, the International Astronomical Union has a very broad field to choose from when deciding on suitable names to use. The works of the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare are known and admired the world over, and the iconic characters in his plays have provided a rich source of inspiration for the IAU in its task of assigning suitable names to astronomical objects.

Several of the moons of Uranus, and a number of asteroids, are named after Shakespeare’s characters, as the list below shows.

Indeed, Shakespeare himself also included a number of astronomical references in his works. This paper, published in the Irish Astronomical Journal in the year that marked the 400th anniversary of his birth, takes a scholarly look at Shakespeare’s knowledge of astronomy.

IAU assigned names taken from Shakespeare’s plays

* Although the name was originally taken from Alexander Pope’s poem The Rape of the Lock.

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together more than 10 000 professional astronomers from almost 100 countries. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.

Links

• Irish Astronomical Journal article about Shakespeare’s references to astronomy

Contacts

Piero Benvenuti
General Secretary, International Astronomical Union
Paris, France
Tel: +33 1 43 25 83 58
Email: piero.benvenuti@unipd.it

Lars Lindberg Christensen
IAU Press Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 320 06 761
Cell: +49 173 38 72 621
Email: lars@eso.org