Sidera Lodoicea
Sidera Lodoicea is the name given by the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini to the four moons of Saturn discovered by him in the years 1671, 1672, and 1684 and published in his Découverte de deux nouvelles planètes autour de Saturne in 1673 and in the Journal [des sçavans] in 1686. These satellites are today known by the following names, given in 1847:
- Iapetus or Saturn VIII, discovered October 25, 1671
- Rhea or Saturn V, discovered December 23, 1672
- Tethys or Saturn III, discovered March 21, 1684
- Dione or Saturn IV, discovered March 21, 1684
The name was modelled on Sidera Medicea, "Medicean stars", the Latin name used by Galileo to name the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter, in honor of the Florentine house of Medici.
The following contemporary notice records Cassini's choice of name, and explains his rationale for the same: