From our small world we have gazed upon the cosmic ocean for
thousands of years. Ancient astronomers observed points of light that
appeared to move among the stars. They called these objects "planets,"
meaning wanderers, and named them after Roman deities—Jupiter, king of
the gods; Mars, the god of war; Mercury, messenger of the gods; Venus,
the goddes of love and beauty, and Saturn, father of Jupiter and god of
agriculture. The stargazers also observed comets with sparkling tails,
and meteors or shooting stars apparently falling from the sky.