Immortalized in the cosmos: UvA astronomer has an asteroid named after her
Asteroid 12948 has been named after UvA astronomer Nathalie Degenaar, immortalizing her name in space. She now joins the ranks of famous scientists such as Einstein and Galileo, who also have their own asteroids. ‘It feels special to be included in that list.’
The stars are aligned for associate professor Nathalie Degenaar: the astronomer now has her own asteroid. The International Astronomical Union recently decided to name the rock with catalog number 12948 after her. A total of seventeen Dutch people have recently had asteroids named after them.
According to Degenaar, the naming process is quite mysterious. She knows that candidates must be nominated by the International Astronomical Union and that there are two important criteria: the scientist must have made a significant contribution to astrophysical research and/or engaged a broad audience in science. She believes that it is probably a combination of the two that led to Degenaar being chosen as the namesake. In addition, there is now a tradition that asteroids discovered by Dutch people are often named after a fellow countryman. For example, this asteroid was discovered in 1971 by a Dutch astronomer couple. The International Astronomical Union has not yet responded to the question of why they chose Degenaar as the namesake for the rock.
In any case, it is very special that an asteroid, which is actually a rocky celestial body orbiting the sun, is given a name. Only asteroids whose movement through space is known are assigned a number. There are currently 811,552 of them. Only around 25,000 of them also have an official name, including Nathalie Degenaar.
The asteroid named after the astrophysicist is not necessarily unique, according to Degenaar. Asteroid number 12948 is five kilometers wide, which is fairly average for an asteroid. However, the rock is large enough to have an infinite lifespan and will therefore float around forever. Fortunately, it poses no danger to Earth; some asteroids come dangerously close, but not this one, Degenaar knows.
The object is bright enough to be observed with a small telescope. However, it will not look very spectacular, as it will be a small spot of light, Degenaar expects. Due to its limited size and great distance, even the largest telescopes we currently have, such as the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile or the James Webb Space Telescope, cannot capture it in great detail.
Degenaar finds it particularly special and “pretty cool” that there is now a rock floating through space that will forever bear her name. “There is now a rock floating around that will forever bear my name. Historically, there are scientists who have had that honor, such as Einstein and Galileo, and it feels special to be included in that list.”
