Asteroid (2849) Shklovskij

Named in honor of Iosif Samuilovich Shklovskij, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, professor at Moscow University and member of the staff at the Space Research Institute.  A brilliant popularizer of astronomy, he has also made substantial contributions to research on the solar corona, galactic radio emission and various cosmic objects. Academician Shklovskij was named an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada on 1966-03-11.

Orbit type: Main Belt Asteroid

Reference: MPC 8543

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Asteroid (2300) Stebbins

Named in memory of Joel Stebbins (1878-1966), who pioneered the development of photoelectric methods for measuring astronomical radiation, first at the University of Illinois, then at the University of Wisconsin. He applied the method in work on eclipsing binaries, interstellar reddening and the integrated magnitudes of galaxies.  Others have used the technique to study the shapes, rotation periods and surface properties of asteroids.

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Asteroid (2451) Dollfus

Named in honor of Audouin Dollfus (d. 2010-10-01), astronomer at the Observatoire de Paris, Meudon.  Dollfus was renowned for his fundamental work on planetary polarimetry and ground-based imaging, including studies of Saturn’s rings, the Martian and lunar surfaces, and the Venus atmosphere.  He worked on the polarimetric properties of minor planets. He was named an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada on 1975-01-25.

Orbit type: Main Belt Asteroid

Reference: MPC 6531

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Asteroid (2434) Bateson

Named in honor of Frank Maine Bateson (d. 2006), director of the Variable Star section of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand since 1928.  He led the site survey of New Zealand that resulted in the establishment of the Mount John University Observatory and was astronomer-in-charge there until 1968.  Dr. Bateson and his wife Doris supported and encouraged astronomy in New Zealand. He was named an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada on 1984-06-30.

Orbit type: Main Belt Asteroid

Reference: MPC 6210

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Asteroid (2213) Meeus

Named in honor of the Belgian amateur astronomer and professional meteorologist Jean Meeus, among whose numerous contrubutions to astronomy are the original 1963 edition of "Tables des Petites Planetes" and improved and updated versions of Oppolzer’s canon of eclipses.  His other writings range from dynamical studies of long-term motions of Apollo objects, through examinations of geometrical configurations of the planets, to the debunking of the idea that there exist observations of faint natural satellites of the earth.  Name proposed by E.

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Asteroid (1991) Darwin

Named in memory of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), the English naturalist who first established the theory of organic evolution; much of his research was done in Argentina, and he crossed the Andes at a pass located some 100 km south of El Leoncito.  This planet also honors his second son, George Howard Darwin (1845-1912), the astronomer noted for his pioneering application of detailed dynamical analyses to problems of cosmogony and geology.

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Asteroid (4809) Robertball

Mathematician and astronomer Robert Stawell Ball (1840-1913) was one of the most successful popularizers of science of his time. Tutor to the children of the fourth Earl of Rosse and observer at Birr Castle, he later moved to Dublin as Royal Astronomer of Ireland until becoming Lowndean professor at Cambridge in 1893. He was named an Honorary Member of the Astronomical and Physical Society of Toronto on 1894-01-09.

Orbit type: Main Belt Asteroid

Reference: MPC 53173

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Asteroid (18242) Peebles

 

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Asteroid (7672) Hawking

Named in honor of Stephen Hawking (b. 1942), theoretical physicist, professor of mathematics at Cambridge University. He is renowned for his research on cosmology and quantum gravitation theory, as well as on the physics of black holes. Besides his scientific work, he is also the author of the well-known popularizations A Brief History of Time and Black holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays. He was named an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada on 1985-01-26. 

Orbit type: Main Belt Asteroid

Reference: MPC 31297

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Asteroid (3032) Evans

Named in honor of the Reverend Robert O. Evans, Australian amateur astronomer and discoverer of several extragalactic supernovae.  Evans has successfully used a systematic visual search program to examine selected galaxies for supernova activity.  Name proposed by the discoverer following a suggestion by P. L. Dombrowski.  He was named an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada on 1993-02-06.

Orbit type: Main Belt Asteroid

Reference: MPC 10845

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