Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to our Sun. It is actually a triple star system, with Alpha Centauri A, a G2V star much like our Sun, Alpha Centauri B, a slightly smaller and cooler K1V star, and Proxima Centauri (also Alpha Centauri C), an M6V red dwarf. Proxima Centauri is named thus, because is the closest star to our Sun.


Alpha Centauri is approximately 4.34 light years away, and as shown above, the largest of the stars is very similar to the Sun. This stellar system is important and will be the first star system humanity will ever visit when we are finally able to leave our own Solar System. Right now, it would take about 81,000 years with our fastest spacecraft technology to reach the star system.


Once we get to Alpha Centauri, we will be able to see if it has planets similar to ours and if the planetary system would be recognizable to us. We would want to see if there were any Earth-like planets and if there could be life on them. Just like the Moon should be our first logical step in colonizing the Solar System, Alpha Centauri is the first logical step in exploring our galaxy.

Days of the Week

So we now finish up the days of the week, and the one thing I want you to take away from the past week is the Latin names for the days of the week. The moment calendar used today (the Gregorian Calendar) was a revision of the Julian Calendar which was based on the old Roman calendar. What this calendar gave us was the 7-day week. And the ancient Romans also thought that there were 7 celestial bodies orbiting around the Earth: the Moon, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, which also happen to be what the Romans named the days of the week after.

Sunday

Sunday. Depending on where you live, the first day or the last day of the week. Obviously, you can easily see that Sunday is named after the Sun. Let's look at Sunday in other languages.

French: dimanche
Spanish: domingo
Italian: domenica
German: Sonntag
Latin: dies Solis

German and Latin are also named after the Sun. What about the other romance languages? Those are actually derived from the Latin for Lord, dominicus. When Christianity became the prevalent religion, Sunday was referred to as the Lord's Day, hence the root for the Romance languages.

Saturday

It's Saturday! And you know that this means we'll look at Saturday in other languages.

French: samedi
Italian: Sabato
Spanish: Sabado
German: Samstag
Latin: dies Saturni

English and Latin have the same root, the Roman god Saturn, while the others refer to the day of Sabbath, which has always been Saturday. East Germans sometimes use Sonnabend, which literally means Sunday Eve.

Friday

Friday, the best day of the week, if you ask me.


Let's see what Friday is in other languages.


French: Vendredi
Italian: Venerdi
Spanish: viernes
German: Freitag
Latin: dies Veneris


All the Romance translations are based on the Latin which translates to "day of Venus". What is the Germanic equivalent of Venus? Frigg (or Friya), the wife of Odin, who was also the goddess of love.

Thursday

Thursday, the fourth day of the week or the fifth, depending on whether or not your week starts on Monday or on Sunday.


Let's look at Thursday in other languages:


French: jeudi
Italian: giovedi
Spanish: jueves

German: Donnerstag
Latin: dies Iovis


Looking at the Romance languages, they are all named after Jupiter, the supreme Roman god. He is also the god of thunder which leads to ... Thor in old Norse mythology. Yes, Thor was not the supreme Norse god, that was Oden, but because he was also the god of thunder, that's where we got Thursday. Donnerstag is also named after the Germanic Thor.

Wednesday

Wednesday in other languages:


French: mercredi
Spanish: miercoles
Italian: mercoledi
German: Mittwoch (literally, midweek)
Latin: dies Mercurii


Romance languages are obviously named after Mercury.


English comes from Odin or Woden (Germanic god similar to Mercury).


German Mittwoch used to be Wodenstag.