Why name the Americas "America?"

America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer. He is the man who set forth what was then considered to be a revolutionary concept: that the lands that Christopher Columbus sailed to in 1492 (but didn't actually land on) were part of a separate continent. 

A map created in 1507 by Martin Waldseemüller was the first to depict this new continent with the name "America," a Latinized version of "Amerigo."

Detail of the Waldseemüller map showing the name "America."
The Library of Congress purchased of the only known extant copy of this map
for $10 million, thanks to the generosity of the U.S. Congress, Discovery Channel, Gerald Lenfest, David Koch and several other donors.

Waldseemüller's large world map included map data that had been gathered by Vespucci during his voyages of 1501-1502 to the New World. he named the new lands "America" on his 1507 map in the recognition of Vespucci's understanding that a new continent had been discovered.

See www.loc.gov/wiseguide/aug03/america.html

Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo, 2010  L-R: McNew, Hubley, and Kaplan

Yo La Tengo is an American alternative rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew (bass, vocals).

The band has had some commercial success, but has always been known as a "critics' band" and has a devoted cult following especially in the NY/NJ area. They are known for having an incredible repertoire of cover songs in live performances and often does radio request appearances on WFMU. 

You La Tengo translates to "I have it" in Spanish. It is said to be the phrase called out by Hispanic baseball players when fielding a pop fly ball. Ira Kaplan picked up the expression from the book The Five Seasons by Roger Angell. 

 
 

Naming the Asteroids

I wrote earlier about 3200 Phaethon, the asteroid that causes us to see the Geminid meteor showers that appear in December. The first asteroids to be discovered were named for characters from classical mythology, such as Ceres and Juno. But the International Astronomical Union (IAU) now regulates the naming of asteroids, and names are no longer restricted to only mythological characters.

The naming of heavenly bodies and celestial objects is quite interesting. An article from the Open University, says that an asteroid is not awarded a name until it has been observed long enough for its orbit to be determined with a fair degree of precision, which may take several years.

The “permanent designation” is a rather boring number issued in strict numerical sequence, but the discoverer is invited to suggest a name for approval by a special committee of the International Astronomical Union.

As we begin to be able to land on these asteroids, the idea of mining asteroids becomes less science-fiction and more like an actual space industry.

There are some much more unusual or whimsical names.

7758 Poulanderson is named after a science fiction author Poul Anderson.

I quite like that object 8749 is named "Beatles" after best known of all rock bands. In addition to 8749 Beatles, there are four consecutively numbered minor planets named after the individual members of The Beatles:

• 4147 Lennon (John Lennon)
• 4148 McCartney (Paul McCartney)
• 4149 Harrison (George Harrison)
• 4150 Starr (Ringo Starr)

The Beatles are not alone in being pop musicians with celestial objects bearing their names. Elvis, Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia, the Rolling Stones (which seems appropriate for these rocks), Frank Sinatra, George Gershwin, Led Zeppelin, Procol Harum, Bruce Springsteen and many others are all floating out there.

And fictional names also get their place in space. From Beowulf to Bilbo Baggins, Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Spock.

The number 5460 asteroid has the name Tsenaat'a'i which means “flying rock” in the Navaho language.

A name of pure invention, and some difficulty to pronounce at first glance, went to object 2037. It is named Tripaxeptalis. It is pronounced to sound like tri Pax sept Alice. The etymology of that is that its permanent designation is three times (tri) that of asteroid 679 Pax and seven times (sept) that of number 291 Alice.