MPC_20151225

M.P.C. 97568 2015 DEC. 25
(9435) Odafukashi = 1997 CK 20
Discovered 1997 Feb. 12 by T. Kobayashi at Oizumi.
Fukashi Oda (b. 1957) is a science teacher of Shudo Junior and Senior High
School in Hiroshima, Japan. He is active as a staff member of Japanese Society for
Education and Popularization of Astronomy.
(9436) Shudo = 1997 EB
Discovered 1997 Mar. 1 by T. Kobayashi at Oizumi.
Shudo is a private boys’ junior and senior high school in Hiroshima, Japan.
Yoshinaga Asano, Fifth Lord of the Hiroshima Clan, established the school in 1725.
The school motto is ‘Wisdom and Morality’.
(9650) Okadaira = 1995 YG
Discovered 1995 Dec. 17 by T. Kobayashi at Oizumi.
The Okadaira Shell Mound located in Miho village, Ibaraki prefecture, was
built on the south coast of Lake Kasumigaura about 7,000 to 3,500 years ago. The
research by Sasaki and Iijima in 1879 is appreciated as “the Starting Point of Japanese
Archeology”. It was the first Japanese-only excavation.
(9655) Yaburanger = 1996 CH 1
Discovered 1996 Feb. 11 by T. Kobayashi at Oizumi.
Yaburanger is a nickname for Japanese amateur castle researchers in Ibaraki
and Chiba prefectures. ‘Yabu’ means bush in Japanese. The Yaburangers explore
castles from the Middle Ages, and they wrote the book Castles in Ibaraki.
(11475) Velinský = 1982 VL
Discovered 1982 Nov. 11 by Z. Vávrová at Kleť.
Jaroslav Velinský (1932–2012), nickname Kapitán Kid, was a Czech science
fiction and detective novel writer, publisher, songwriter and musician. He was one of
the founders of the Czech folk festival, Porta.
(13957) NARIT = 1991 AG 2
Discovered 1991 Jan. 7 by R. H. McNaught at Siding Spring.
The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) was established
in 2004 to commemorate the life and work of King Mongkut the “Father of
Thai Science”. NARIT operates a 2.4-m telescope and five regional telescopes in
Thailand, and robotic telescopes in Chile, Australia and China.
(19370) Yukyung = 1997 YY 8
Discovered 1997 Dec. 25 by NEAT at Haleakala.
Yuk Yung (b. 1946) is a Caltech planetary scientist who has studied atmospheric
photochemistry and evolution, global climate change, and radiative transfer. His
models of the chemistry of planetary atmospheres have been widely used to interpret
the results from spacecraft missions.
(19911) Rigaux = 1933 FK
Discovered 1933 Mar. 26 by F. Rigaux at Uccle.
Fernand Rigaux (1905–1962) was a Belgian astronomer at the Royal Observatory,
Uccle, who discovered several asteroids (including the one that now bears his
name). He was also a co-discoverer of comet 49P/Arend-Rigaux. Name suggested
by W.A. Fröger.
(23450) Birkenstock = 1988 CB 4
Discovered 1988 Feb. 13 by E. W. Elst at the European Southern
Observatory.
Charles Birkenstock (c. 1860–1928) was the director of the Bureau Central
Météorique (founded in 1910) and the Société astronomique d’Anvers (founded in
1905). In the Gazette Astronomique, he published observations on meteors regularly.
(23650) Čvančara = 1997 CU 5
Discovered 1997 Feb. 7 by M. Tichý at Kleť.
Jaroslav Čvančara (b. 1948) is a Czech writer, historian and musician. He is a
banjo player and the band-master of the country & western, folk and bluegrass music
group Taxmani.
(25750) Miwnay = 2000 BB 4
Discovered 2000 Jan. 28 by W. K. Y. Yeung at Rock Finder.
Miwnay was the name of a Sogdian abandoned wife from Samarkand. Her letter
written in 314 AD, preserved by the sands of the Taklamakan Desert, gave us a rare
glimpse about the life in ancient Silk Road.
(25884) Asai = 2000 SQ 4
Discovered 2000 Sept. 20 by BATTeRS at Bisei SG Center.
Yoshihiko Asai (b. 1957) is a professor at Higashi Nippon International University,
who contributed to the promotion of Japanese deep space missions, space
education and the establishment of the Japan Spaceguard Association.
(26800) Gualtierotrucco = 1981 EK 1
Discovered 1981 Mar. 6 by H. Debehogne and G. De Sanctis at the European
Southern Observatory.
Gualtiero Trucco (b. 1953) is a cardiologist specializing in arrhythmology, who
developed a project in secondary schools with the aim to train students in basic life
support and the use of automatic defibrillators.
(31230) Tuyouyou = 1998 BB 47
Discovered 1998 Jan. 18 by Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program at
Xinglong.
Tu Youyou (b. 1930) is a Chinese pharmacologist and Nobel Laureate. She discovered
the antimalarial drug artemisinin, which has saved millions of lives, especially
in developing countries. She has won many prestigious awards, including the 2015
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
(31679) Glenngrimmett = 1999 JJ 19
Discovered 1999 May 10 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid
Research Team at Socorro.
Glenn Manuel Grimmett (b. 2001) is a finalist in the 2015 Broadcom MASTERS,
a math and science competition for middle school students, for his animal science
project. He attends the Weiss School, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
(34817) Shiominemoto = 2001 SE 116
Discovered 2001 Sept. 21 by BATTeRS at Bisei SG Center.
Shiomi Nemoto (b. 1965) is a volunteer for the Japan International Cooperation
Agency. She works for the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and was
the first secretary of the Japan Spaceguard Association.
(36424) Satokokumasaki = 2000 PZ 3
Discovered 2000 Aug. 3 by BATTeRS at Bisei SG Center.
Satoko Kumasaki (b. 1958) has devoted herself to elementary education since
1992. She organized the Primary Education Study Group at the Kawai Institute for
Culture and Education.