Chiron resonance

Minor planets in estimated resonance with Chiron.

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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15th century manuscript miniature illustration of Eris throwing the golden apple at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, from Jean Miélot's L'Epître d'Othéa.
Aries discovery, Dwarf planets, Focus On, Scattered disk objects, Trans-Neptunian objects

Focus On: (136199) Eris

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Name origin: Greek goddess or personified spirit (daimona) of strife, discord, contention and rivalry. Eris was often portrayed specifically as the daimona of the strife of war, haunting the battlefield and delighting in human bloodshed. Because of Eris’ disagreeable nature she was the only goddess not to be invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. When she turned up anyway and was refused admittance, she raged and threw in the golden apple that famously led to the Trojan War. She was closely identified with Enyo, the goddess of war and a close companion of Ares.

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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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Detail of the Judges of the Dead, Rhadamanthys, Minos and Aeakos, from the name vase of the Underworld Painter, ca. 330-310 BCE.
Focus On, Kuiper Belt objects, Libra discovery, Trans-Neptunian objects

Focus On: (38083) Rhadamanthus

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Name origin: Greek son of Zeus and Europa. Because of his just and upright life, after death Rhadamanthus was appointed a judge of the dead and the ruler of Elysium, a blissfully beautiful area of the Underworld where those favoured by the gods spent their life after death.

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Detail of a studio portrait photograph of Venetia Burney, aged 11, around the time she named Pluto (crop).
Aries discovery, Asteroids, Focus On, Inner main belt objects, Main belt objects

Focus On: (6235) Burney

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Name origin: Venetia Phair (née Burney), who at age 11 was the first to suggest the name Pluto when said planet was discovered. She studied mathematics and became an accountant, and later a teacher.

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The Doric Temple of Hephaestus, at the Agora of Athens, Greece.
Apollo group, Aries discovery, Asteroids, Focus On, Near-Earth objects

Focus On: (2212) Hephaistos

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Name origin: Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire, and volcanoes. He became renowned for his skill at craftsmanship; several of his myths involve his works for gods and mortals.

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Mural of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (2005), by Salvador Almaraz López. Hidalgo is standing centrally, with the right hand outstretched and the left in a fist. Behind him, on his right, emaciated people on the ground are beneath the hooves of a horse driven by a figure in a mask and cowl. To his left is a revolutionary army with banners and weapons upraised. Directly behind Hidalgo is a godlike image of him. Red is prominent. In the foreground, a pair of hands is raised towards Hidalgo as if in supplication.
Aries discovery, Centaurs, Focus On

Focus On: (944) Hidalgo

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Name origin: Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753-1811), a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican War of Independence and recognized as the Father of the Nation. Due to the oppression of poor Mexicans by the Spanish colonisers, on 16th September 1810 he gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence, called the Cry of Dolores.

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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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