Daniel Majaess (b. 1984) is a young Canadian observational astronomer who researches the Cepheid distance scale, variable stars, and the Milky Way’s spiral structure and its many star clusters. He frequently makes innovative use of photometric surveys and data from small telescopes.

Orbit type: Main Belt

Reference: MPC 79108

John Pond (1767–1836), sixth Astronomer Royal, is famous for the introduction of then-modern transit instruments at Greenwich Observatory and for publishing a high-precision star catalogue. Pond received the Copley Medal of the Royal Society. The name was suggested by L. D. Schmadel.

Sedna is the Inuit goddess of the sea and the mother of all sea creatures. She rewards the people of the land with food from the sea. Without her blessing, hunts fail and the people starve. She is thus one of the most important figures in Inuit legend.

Named in honor of Robert Burnham, senior editor of the magazine "Astronomy".  Over many years he has been partly responsible for its evolution into the astronomical publication with the world’s largest readership.  In 1983, Burnham’s "The Star Book" appeared with a series of clearly designed star charts to guide beginners on their way to an understanding of the night sky.  Robert Burnham grew up in Toronto in the 1970s as a member of the RASC Toronto Centre, following in the footsteps of Terence Dickinson and Richard Berry.

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (16 July 1872 – c. 18 June 1928) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the Antarctic expedition (1910-12) to discover the South Pole in December 1911 and he was the first expedition leader to (undisputedly) reach the North Pole in 1926. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage (1903-06). He disappeared in June 1928 while taking part in a rescue mission in the Barents Sea.

Named for James Cook (1728-1779), British circumnavigator and one of the first scientific navigators.  He observed the solar eclipse of 1766 Aug. 5 from Newfoundland and in 1769 measured the transit of Venus from Tahiti. In 1761 he assisted the Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, in tests of John Harrison’s fourth marine chronometer as a means of determining longitude at sea.  Name proposed by the discoverer following a suggestion by B. Hetherington.