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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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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Oracle of Delphi: King Aigeus in front of the Pythia. Attic red-figure kylix from Vulci (Italy), 440-430 BCE, Kodros Painter; held at Altes Museum, Berlin.
Asteroids, Focus On, Gemini discovery, Main belt objects

Focus On: (432) Pythia

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The Pythia was the high priestess and oracle of the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Established by the 8th century BCE (though some sources date the shrine’s beginnings around 600 years farther back), the Pythia became pre-eminent by the 7th century BCE. Widely respected, the priestess continued to be consulted until the late 4th century CE.

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Statue of the personification of Wisdom (Koinē Greek: Σοφία, Sophía) at the Library of Celsus in Ephesus (second century CE); crop.
Asteroids, Focus On, Libra discovery, Main belt objects

Focus On: (275) Sapientia

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Sapientia is Latin for “wisdom”. The corresponding Ancient Greek term (Sophia) variously translates to “clever, skillful, intelligent, wise”; it also implies “skill in handicraft and art” in Homeric usage, which has been applied to both Hephaistos and Athene.

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