Stateira was a queen of ancient Persia who died about 400 BCE; wife of Artaxerxes II. She had a son, who became Artaxerxes III. She was a popular ruler, apparently because she talked to ordinary people, but did not get on well with her mother-in-law Parysatis, who eventually poisoned her.
Brothers Auguste Marie (19 October 1862-10 April 1954) and Louis Jean Lumière (5 October 1864-6 June 1948), French pioneering manufacturers of photography equipment and early film production. Their screening on 22 March 1895 in Paris was likely the first presentation of projected film.
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.
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.
Mandeville is the capital and largest town in the parish of Manchester in Middlesex, Jamaica. It was laid out in 1816, and named after Viscount Mandeville, the eldest son of the Duke of Manchester, who was then governor of Jamaica.
Name origin: The genus Luscinia, which contains the common nightingale and three other living species. These are migratory birds originating from Europe and Asia, occurring at various latitudes but more prevalent in temperate regions. The common nightingale is renowned for its powerful and beautiful song.
Auravictrix is Latin for ‘victory against the wind’ (named for the first Schütte-Lanz zeppelin flights in 1911). The Schütte-Lanz company was an early competitor of the more famous airships built by Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
Name origin: Desdemona, character in Shakespeare’s Othello. The name may have been inspired by the asteroid’s provisional designation, containing the letters “DM”. Desdemona is the faithful wife of Othello whose reputation is muddied by the villain Iago.
Name origin: Titan goddess of falling stars, dream divination and astrology. Asteria was the mother of Hekate, goddess of witchcraft and magic, by Perses. After the fall of the Titans, Zeus (being Zeus) chased Asteria across the sky but she escaped him by transforming herself into a quail and then leaping into the sea to become the wandering island of Delos.
Name origin: Greek Naiad at Delphi who, to flee Apollo’s pursuit, threw (or transformed) herself into the sacred springs now bearing her name. The water from the springs bestowed the gifts of prophecy and poetry.
