Cars often have names with an astronomical theme. What are some car models with names from astronomy?
Saturn - The planet Saturn is best known for its extensive ring system. So far the cars do not have rings around them.
Subaru - Subaru is the Japanese word for Pleiades. The seven sisters of the Pleiades is a small cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus. Despite having seven in its name, most people can only see six stars with the naked eye. A telescope can reveal a few hundred. The star emblem on Subaru cars represents the naked eye stars in this cluster.
Ford Taurus - The constellation Taurus represents a bull in ancient mythology. The cars have been a popular Ford model starting in the mid 1980s.
Nissan Pulsar - A pulsar is a rapidly rotating neutron star, and the core left over after a massive star undergoes a supernova explosion. The best known astronomical pulsar is the Crab Nebula Pulsar in the constellation Taurus.
Chevrolet Nova - A nova is a stellar explosion on the surface layers of a white dwarf star. It is nowhere near as violent as a supernova explosion. The cars were made from the 1960s through the late 1980s. Nova cars reputedly did not sell well in Spanish speaking countries because the name nova translates to no go in Spanish.
Ford Galaxy - A galaxy is a collection of up to several hundred billion stars, such as the Milky Way galaxy in which our Sun and solar system are located. The cars were a popular Ford model in the 1960s.
Ford Comet - A comet is a small ball of ice and rock that grows a long spectacular tail of evaporated icy materials and dust as the comet comes close to the Sun. The cars were a compact Ford model in the 1960s.
Mercury - The planet Mercury is the closest to the Sun and named for the mythological messenger god, perhaps because of its speedy trips around the Sun.
Mercury Meteor - A meteor is a chunk of rock flying through space that burns in our atmosphere as it falls towards Earth. The car was made by Mercury for only two years in the early 1960s, so like its astronomical counterpart it burned out quickly. My first car was an old barely running 1963 Mercury Meteor.
Mitsubishi Eclipse - An solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's shadow falls on Earth, and a lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth's shadow falls on the Moon.
Can you think of more astronomical car names?
