Mnemonic

n. A form of words or letters that assists the memory

We used to have just 9 planets in the galaxy, and I honestly can't remember what little phrase they gave to help everyone remember the names, but I was a little science nerd and quickly remembered the names of the planets, constellations, etc. etc.

But now that we've got 8 planets and 3 dwarf planets, it's a little more complicated.

And so National Geographic set up a contest for a new phrase to remember all the planets in order, and a winner has been decided:

My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants was created by a fourth-grader. Apparently, a song will follow, which is a bit weird, but so is Lisa Loeb, the singer of the song, so heck, why not.

The planets now are:
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Ceres
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Eris

And speaking of Earth, the Planet Earth series, amazing viewing, was preceded by Blue Planet: Seas of Life, which I bought this week and have begun to watch. Just as breathtaking and mind-boggling, if not more so ... Depends on if you take to land or sea better, I suppose.