The naming of small celestial bodies is overseen by a special IAU working group. Among 29 asteroids newly assigned names, four honour people from Poland, state news agency PAP reported.
One of them, Chrupała, previously designated 2008 EK172, was discovered in 2013 by Polish amateur astronomers Michał Kusiak and Michał Żołnowski. It commemorates Henryk Chrupała (1938-2015), a Polish astronomer, physicist and populariser of astronomy who served as director of the Silesian Planetarium in southern Poland from 1973 to 2003.
Another newly named asteroid, Faustina, formerly known as 2012 VZ114, honours Faustyna Kowalska (1905-1938), a nun of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and a Catholic mystic canonised in 2000.
A third asteroid, Ledóchowska, previously designated 2012 WH32, commemorates Urszula Ledóchowska (1865-1939), a nun and founder of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, known for her work with children. She was declared a saint in 2003.
Both Faustina and Ledóchowska were discovered in 2020 by Polish-Lithuanian astronomer Kazimierz Czernis and Richard P. Boyle.
The fourth asteroid, Kulmatycki, formerly known as 2012 RY11, was discovered in 2012 by Kusiak and Żołnowski. It is named after Wojciech Kulmatycki, a promoter of shooting sports. Born in 1963, Kulmatycki is the head coach of Poland’s national shooting team, which has achieved numerous international successes, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP