 In Chinese, Vesta is called the 'hearth-god(dess) star', "", naming the asteroid for Vesta's role rather than literally transliterating her name into Chinese, as is done with other bodies discovered in modern times, including Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.Upon its discovery, Vesta was, like Ceres, Pallas, and Juno before it, classified as a planet and given a planetary symbol.The symbol represented the altar of Vesta with its sacred fire and was designed by Gauss.