Naming the Asteroids

I wrote earlier about 3200 Phaethon, the asteroid that causes us to see the Geminid meteor showers that appear in December. The first asteroids to be discovered were named for characters from classical mythology, such as Ceres and Juno. But the International Astronomical Union (IAU) now regulates the naming of asteroids, and names are no longer restricted to only mythological characters.

The naming of heavenly bodies and celestial objects is quite interesting. An article from the Open University, says that an asteroid is not awarded a name until it has been observed long enough for its orbit to be determined with a fair degree of precision, which may take several years.

The “permanent designation” is a rather boring number issued in strict numerical sequence, but the discoverer is invited to suggest a name for approval by a special committee of the International Astronomical Union.

As we begin to be able to land on these asteroids, the idea of mining asteroids becomes less science-fiction and more like an actual space industry.

There are some much more unusual or whimsical names.

7758 Poulanderson is named after a science fiction author Poul Anderson.

I quite like that object 8749 is named "Beatles" after best known of all rock bands. In addition to 8749 Beatles, there are four consecutively numbered minor planets named after the individual members of The Beatles:

• 4147 Lennon (John Lennon)
• 4148 McCartney (Paul McCartney)
• 4149 Harrison (George Harrison)
• 4150 Starr (Ringo Starr)

The Beatles are not alone in being pop musicians with celestial objects bearing their names. Elvis, Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia, the Rolling Stones (which seems appropriate for these rocks), Frank Sinatra, George Gershwin, Led Zeppelin, Procol Harum, Bruce Springsteen and many others are all floating out there.

And fictional names also get their place in space. From Beowulf to Bilbo Baggins, Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Spock.

The number 5460 asteroid has the name Tsenaat'a'i which means “flying rock” in the Navaho language.

A name of pure invention, and some difficulty to pronounce at first glance, went to object 2037. It is named Tripaxeptalis. It is pronounced to sound like tri Pax sept Alice. The etymology of that is that its permanent designation is three times (tri) that of asteroid 679 Pax and seven times (sept) that of number 291 Alice.

 

3200 Phaethon

The Fall of Phaëthon on a Roman sarcophagus
 (Hermitage Museum - Wikimedia)

This week will have the best nights for watching the Geminid meteor showers which appear to come from the constellation Gemini, but these showers are caused by the celestial object 3200 Phaethon, which is an asteroid.

That is unusual and this is one of the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. This asteroid has an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid. And that association with the Sun is how the asteroid got its name.

The first asteroids to be discovered were named for characters from classical mythology, but names are no longer restricted strictly to mythological characters.

Phaethon was the Ancient Greek name for the planet Jupiter, a planet whose motions and cycles were observed by the ancients and often used in poetry and myth.

In mythology, Phaethon's father was the sun god Helios who granted his son's wish to drive the sun chariot for a day.  Phaethon was unable to control the horses. To prevent the chariot from hitting and destroying Earth, Zeus knocked it out of the sky with a thunderbolt. Phaethon fell to earth and was killed.

These radar images of near-Earth asteroid 3200 Phaethon were generated by astronomers at the National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory on Dec. 17, 2017. Observations of Phaethon were conducted from Dec.15 through 19, 2017, at the time of its closest approaching December 16 when it was about 6.4 million miles or 10.3 million kilometers away, or about 27 times the distance from Earth to the moon. The encounter is the closest the asteroid will come to Earth until 2093.

Source: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22185