The new names, published on November 9 in the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) latest bulletin, recognize Polish achievements in astronomy, education and the arts.
Among those honored is Maciej Stuhr, one of Poland's best-known film and theater actors.
Asteroid (690092) Stuhr, discovered by Polish astronomers Michał Żołnowski and Michał Kusiak, orbits the sun every 4.15 years. Stuhr has received numerous awards for his acting, including roles in the films Aftermath and 33 Scenes from Life.
Another asteroid, (320977) Grudziądz, bears the name of a historic city on the Vistula River in northern Poland. Founded in the Middle Ages, Grudziądz has links to astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who presented a treatise on monetary policy there in 1522. The city also has a planetarium and astronomical observatory.
The asteroid was discovered in 2008 by Polish-Lithuanian astronomer Kazimierz Czernis and Justas Zdanavičius at the Molėtai Observatory in Lithuania. It takes 4.79 years to complete an orbit around the sun. Czernis is responsible for three of the five newly named asteroids.
In October, he received a medal from the Polish Senate in recognition of his discovery of more than 250 asteroids and numerous comets.
Two other objects discovered by Czernis honor Polish astronomy educators.
Asteroid (229198) Zofiahuppenthal is named after physicist Zofia Huppenthal, a former vice president of the Polish Society of Amateur Astronomers and head of its Toruń branch.
Asteroid (815811) Cześstawikowski commemorates physicist Czesław Stawikowski, who has helped organize national and international astronomy competitions for young people. He also contributed to plans for an optional astronomy subject in Polish secondary schools, scheduled for introduction in the 2027–28 academic year.
The fifth asteroid, (618090) Rucinski, honors Polish astronomer Sławomir Ruciński, who moved to Canada in 1984 and spent decades researching binary stars and stellar activity at the University of Toronto.
Ruciński helped initiate the MOST and BRITE satellite observatory projects. The latter included Poland's first scientific satellites, Lem, launched in 2013, and Heweliusz, launched in 2014. He received a Polish state decoration in 2015 for his contribution to their development. The asteroid honoring him was discovered by Canadian astronomer David Balam.
The IAU oversees the official naming of astronomical objects. Asteroid discoverers may propose names once an object's orbit has been reliably established, a process that can take years. Each proposal must then be approved under the union's naming rules.
(rt)
Source: PAP