Two Armagh astronomers have asteroids named in their honour

ARMAGH · Two staff members at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in Northern Ireland have had asteroids named after them. Rok Nežič, a tours and outreach officer, and Shane Kelly, the principal meteorological observer, were nominated by colleagues for the honour, which is governed by the International Astronomical Union. The asteroids, now officially named (20560) Nežič and (7050) Shanekelly, were discovered in 1999 and 1982 respectively. Nežič, who grew up in Slovenia, said learning asteroids could be named after people was "so cool." He described having one named after him as "a dream come true." "I'm not sure how to believe it myself," he admitted to BBC News NI. He explained his asteroid is about 10.9 kilometres across and is currently "sitting safely out in the asteroid belt and just going around the Sun, just like we are."

Kelly's asteroid is larger, measuring 15.6 kilometres across. He was nominated by the observatory's emeritus director. Kelly has recorded weather data at Armagh for 27 years, opening the Stevenson screen each day to note thermometer readings in a handwritten ledger. "He's probably observed the weather more than anyone else in the world, I suspect," said Prof Michael Burton, the institute's director. "So this is in recognition of Shane's contribution to the observatory and to the measuring of the weather."

Nežič noted both asteroids are relatively large compared to others named after people. "They're both actually quite large as far as these asteroids that are named after people tend to be, because most of the really large ones were discovered first," he said. "So they were named a long time ago, and now we're finding smaller and smaller ones." His own asteroid was discovered by an Earth-based survey mission looking for many asteroids to track their orbits.

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The naming process requires a nomination, and Nežič said two people put his name forward, though he does not know exactly who. His PhD supervisor and a former astronomer from the observatory nominated him. Nežič completed his doctorate in space and climate physics at Armagh in 2015 and has worked there since. He focused his studies on comets using polarised light.

He praised the small institution for "punching well above our weight." "Even though we're a small institution, people who work here can just focus on the research so much that we have really top researchers in the field," Nežič said. The Armagh Observatory has monitored the weather for more than 230 years. Professor Burton said it is "fantastic" that two team members have been recognized this way. "There are now 29 asteroids which have some connection with the observatory and planetarium here in Armagh," he said. The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium plans to recognize their achievements with a new LED dome that will show the asteroids and their orbits.

With files from Yahoo News and BBC