Virgo discovery

Minor planets discovered in Virgo.

Petroglyph of Makemake with two birdmen, carved from red scoria.
Dwarf planets, Focus On, Trans-Neptunian objects, Virgo discovery

Focus On: (136472) Makemake

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Name origin: Make Make is considered the supreme divinity of Easter Island and the most important mythological being in the Rapanui worldview. Make Make was the creator of all things, the first man and the first woman, and he had the power to reward the good people and punish the bad ones. The most important ritual in honour of Make Make was the bird man (Tangata Manu) competition in which prominent contestants sent helpers to obtain the first manutara (sooty tern) egg.

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Orbit viewer showing Echeclus' position at the time of discovery, from the JPL Small-Body Database. Echeclus' orbit is around 35 years, between those of Saturn and Uranus, and somewhat inclined.
Centaurs, Focus On, Virgo discovery

Focus On: (60558) Echeclus

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Name origin: Centaur in Greek myth. Along with fellow centaurs, Ekheklos attended the Lapith king Pirithous’ wedding and was killed by Ampyx, who had thrust his lance that lacked its point into Ekheklos’ face. Name may mean ‘sticky’ or ‘glutinous’.

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Simeiz VLBI Station. The 22m radio telescope is located at the foot of Mount Koshka. Photo shows a radio telescope situated on a bay with verdure around it and a rocky hill, ocean and a blue sky with few clouds in the background. The telescope is pointing almost directly upwards.
Asteroids, Focus On, Hilda group, Main belt objects, Outer main belt objects, Virgo discovery

Focus On: (748) Simeïsa

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Name origin: Simeïs Observatory and the town of Simeïs, Crimea, Ukraine, where the object was first discovered. A total of 150 minor planets were found at the observatory, which operated as a research site until the mid-1950s and is now used for studying satellite orbits.

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Dig site featuring ruins of the Roman baths at Aguntum.
Asteroids, Focus On, Main belt objects, Outer main belt objects, Virgo discovery

Focus On: (744) Aguntina

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Aguntum was an ancient Roman site in what is now East Tirol, Austria (about 4km east of Lienz, the discoverer’s birthplace). The city was likely built as a mining and trading centre due to local supplies of iron, copper, zinc and gold.

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Photo of a whirlpool in the Gulf of Corryvreckan, Scotland; the third largest in the world. The whirlpool is quite close to the viewer, a near-circular spiral with white foam amid a dark blue-green sea; in the background is a bare-looking rocky terrain not far off. The sky is blue with some blended white cloud.
Asteroids, Focus On, Main belt objects, Outer main belt objects, Virgo discovery

Focus On: (388) Charybdis

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Name origin: Greek sea-monster, daughter of Pontos and Gaia. Kharybdis presided over a whirlpool guarding the Strait of Messina and was likely the cause of the tides with her thrice-daily intake and expulsion of large amounts of water.

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