Polar Bearings

[level_head]

I mentioned "southwest" in reference to Mars. Planets have north and south poles too

Comments

[sir_dave]

Your opening words led me to think about Uranus, but thankfully you later covered it ;)

[deckardcanine]

I was hoping not to see "opening" and "Uranus" in the same sentence. :P

[level_head]

You're pronouncing it wrong, I think. ];-)

===|==============/ Level Head

[deckardcanine]

That's right; it's supposed to sound like an adjective form of "urine."

[level_head]

Some folks -- including me -- use the older pronunciation in the Greek style: "oo RAN us."

The pronunciation you were apparently originally thinking of is more appropriately used to describe something pertaining to or containing uranium. Yellowcake is, for example, highly uranous. (The word can also refer to a particular uranium ion.)

Obviously there's a lot of variation in common usage for the planet's spoken name. It's an unfortunate pronunciation that may be sidestepped by being a bit old-fashioned; this suits me just fine.

===|==============/ Level Head