Georgium

Georgium refers to the provisional name given to the planet Uranus after its discovery by William Herschel in 1781. He proposed Georgium Sidus, meaning George's Star, to honor King George III of Great Britain. The name was intended to mark the discovery publicly and to place the new world in the celestial naming tradition then used by astronomers.

In the following year, the name drew criticism and discussion within the scientific community and among the public. Some observers felt that naming a celestial body after a living monarch was inappropriate or politically sensitive. In 1782, the astronomer Johann Bode proposed the name Uranus, and it was subsequently adopted. The switch to Uranus aligned the planet with the broader pattern of mythological names used for the other planets, drawing on the Greek deity Uranus (Ouranos), the sky father, to fit the existing naming scheme.

Today, Georgium Sidus is rarely used outside historical contexts; the term Georgium may appear in older texts to refer to the original designation. The planet itself is the seventh from the Sun and is categorized as a gas giant with a system of rings and a notable axial tilt. The change from Georgium Sidus to Uranus is considered a notable episode in the history of astronomical nomenclature, illustrating how scientific naming can reflect cultural and political considerations as well as scientific tradition.