From: Damien Broderick (thespike@earthlink.net)
Date: Fri Jan 10 2003 - 10:18:58 MST
avatar:
> where did Pluto and Charon come from?
>Probably this rule did not apply when Charon was named?
Apart from the inevitability of the name, the wife of one of the guys who
found Charon was named Sharon. Not having received a proper classical
education, this astronomer thought the two words were pronounced the same
way, and figured it'd be a cute tribute. I assume, however, that the
authoritative pronunciation of `Charon' is now `Karon'. (With `quark',
though, I still prefer to stick to Gell-Mann's pronunciation, since he
invented the damned things and it fits better with FINNEGANS WAKE: kwor-k,
not kwah-k.)
Damien Broderick
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