Terra (mythology) vegetative and animal fertility and abundance. Tellumo is identified by St. Augustine as the male counterpart of Tellus. A Tellurus is named uniquely by Martianus Capella (1.49). In several modern Romance languages, "terra" (or French "terre") is the name of planet Earth. Following post-classical Latin astronomical terminology, Earth is sometimes referred to as "Terra". Terra (mythology) In ancient Roman religion and myth, Tellus Mater or Terra Mater ("Mother Earth") is a goddess of the earth. Although Tellus and Terra are hardly distinguishable during the Imperial era, "Tellus" was the name of the original earth goddess in the religious practices of
IAU definition of planet IAU definition of planet The International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined in August 2006 that, in the Solar System, a planet is a celestial body which: Among other things, this definition caused Pluto to no longer be a planet, a change from how it had been widely considered until that point. A non-satellite body fulfilling only the first two of these criteria (such as Pluto) is classified as a "dwarf planet". According to the IAU, "planets and dwarf planets are two distinct classes of objects". A non-satellite body fulfilling only the first criterion is termed a "small Solar System body" (SSSB).