10.

The Mountains on Saturn’s Moon Titan Were Named After Middle Earth Mountains

The Lord of the Rings was published in 1954, adding to the story that J.R.R. Tolkien began with The Hobbit in 1937 and starting a pop culture craze that led to movie adaptations, Comic-Con costumes, and even the names of landmarks on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. 

Six of Titan’s hills are named after central characters in the series: Bilbo, Handir, Nimloth, Arwen and Faramir Colles were all named in 2012. (“Colles” isn’t another Tolkien reference: it’s actually a term that planetary experts use to refer to hills.) Naming a hill after Gandalf wasn’t approved until July 2015, a full 360 years after Titan was discovered in 1655.