Editing Tethys (moon) (section)

== Discovery and naming ==
[[File:Giovanni Cassini.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Giovanni Domenico Cassini, discoverer of Tethys]]
Tethys was discovered by [[Giovanni Domenico Cassini]] in 1684 together with [[Dione (moon)|Dione]], another moon of Saturn. He had also discovered two moons, [[Rhea (moon)|Rhea]] and [[Iapetus (moon)|Iapetus]] earlier, in 1671–72.{{sfn|Van Helden|1994}} Cassini observed all of these moons using a large [[aerial telescope]] he set up on the grounds of the [[Paris Observatory]].{{sfn|Price|2000|p=279}}

Cassini named the four new moons as ''[[Sidera Lodoicea]]'' ("the stars of Louis") to honour king [[Louis XIV of France]].{{sfn|Cassini|1686–1692}} By the end of the seventeenth century, astronomers fell into the habit of referring to them and [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] as ''Saturn&nbsp;I'' through ''Saturn&nbsp;V'' (Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, Iapetus).{{sfn|Van Helden|1994}} Once [[Mimas (moon)|Mimas]] and [[Enceladus (moon)|Enceladus]] were discovered in 1789 by [[William Herschel]], the numbering scheme was extended to ''Saturn&nbsp;VII'' by bumping the older five moons up two slots. The discovery of [[Hyperion (moon)|Hyperion]] in 1848 changed the numbers one last time, bumping Iapetus up to ''Saturn&nbsp;VIII''. Henceforth, the numbering scheme would remain fixed.

[[File:John_F._Hershel.png|left|thumb|upright|[[John Herschel]], the astronomer who suggested that the moons of Saturn be named after the Titans and Giants]]
The modern names of all seven satellites of Saturn come from [[John Herschel]] (son of [[William Herschel]], discoverer of Mimas and Enceladus).{{sfn|Van Helden|1994}} In his 1847 publication ''Results of Astronomical Observations made at the Cape of Good Hope'',{{sfn|Lassell|1848}} he suggested the names of the [[Titan (mythology)|Titans]], sisters and brothers of [[Cronus|Kronos]] (the Greek analogue of Saturn), be used. Tethys is named after the titaness [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]].{{sfn|Van Helden|1994}} It is also designated '''Saturn&nbsp;III''' or '''S III Tethys'''.

The name ''Tethys'' has two customary pronunciations, with either a 'long' or a 'short' ''e'': {{IPAc-en|'|t|iː|θ|ᵻ|s}}<ref>{{MW|Tethys}}<br>{{dict.com|Tethys}}</ref> or {{IPAc-en|'|t|ɛ|θ|ᵻ|s}}.<ref>{{OED|Tethys}}<br>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Tethys |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327105314/https://www.lexico.com/definition/tethys |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 March 2020 |title=Tethys |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> The conventional adjectival form of the name is ''Tethyan'',<ref>{{OED|Tethys}}<br>{{MW|Tethys}}</ref> again with either a long or a short ''e''.

Planetary moons other than Earth's were never given symbols in the astronomical literature. Denis Moskowitz, a software engineer who designed most of the [[dwarf planet]] symbols, proposed a Greek [[theta]] combined with the crook of the Saturn symbol as the symbol of Tethys ([[File:Tethys symbol (fixed width).svg|16px]]). This symbol is not widely used.<ref name=moons>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2025/25079-phobos-and-deimos.pdf |title=Phobos and Deimos symbols |last1=Bala |first1=Gavin Jared |last2=Miller |first2=Kirk |date=7 March 2025 |website=unicode.org |publisher=The Unicode Consortium |access-date=14 March 2025 |quote=}}</ref>