sbolos was a diviner who read omens in the flight of birds, and who predicted the battle with the Lapiths. He eventually caused the fight with Herakles (by bringing the centaurs when he saw Herakles’ wine opened), and thus was indirectly responsible for the deaths of Pholus and Chiron.
Focus On: (8405) Asbolus Read Post »
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.
Focus On: (6235) Burney Read Post »
Name origin: Famous Greek hero and demigod who became immortal. Performed the 12 labours for King Eurystheus of Mycenae, and had a number of other adventures. His name means ‘glory (or fame) of Hera’. On his ascension, he married Hebe.
Focus On: (5143) Heracles Read Post »
Name origin: Jack B. Child (b. 1951), software engineer at JPL and Asteroid Project director of the World Space Foundation; honoured for his “generous helpfulness” and for introducing team members to the Palomar project.
Focus On: (4580) Child Read Post »
Named for the ancient Indian philosophical principle of cause and effect: good actions and intent have good consequences; bad actions and intent have bad consequences. This can also refer to how a person’s actions affect who they become. (Note that the various theories of karma are generally much more complex than in popular media descriptions.)
Focus On: (3811) Karma Read Post »
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.
Focus On: (2212) Hephaistos Read Post »
Name origin: Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. As one of the principal Olympian gods, there are multiple myths about her.
Focus On: (1388) Aphrodite Read Post »
Probably named for the Monterosa, a ship used by the University of Hamburg on their outings on the North Sea.
Focus On: (947) Monterosa Read Post »
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.
Focus On: (944) Hidalgo Read Post »
Australian-British professor Gilbert Murray (1866-1957) helped Austria recover from World War I in 1920. He was an outstanding scholar of Ancient Greek literature, language and culture. Involved in the League of Nations from 1916, he was also president of the Ethical Union (now Humanists UK) in 1929 and 1930, and a founder of Oxfam.
Focus On: (941) Murray Read Post »
