An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A colorless, odorless, and tasteless gaseous chemical element; symbol Ne.
Atomic number 10, atomic weight 20.179; melting point -248.67°C; boiling point
-246.048°C. It was discovered from its bright red spectral lines by the Scottish chemist William Ramsay and the English chemist Morris William Travers in 1898 from a liquefied air sample. Neon is produced by carbon burning in massive stars and released into the Galaxy when they explode.

See also: From Gk. neon neuter of neos, → new, so called because it was a newly discovered element.