Mercury resonance

Minor planets in estimated resonance with Mercury.

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

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 »

Mosaic of Orpheus taming wild animals, 194 CE; found near Edessa, Turkey.
Apollo group, Focus On, Near-Earth objects, Sagittarius discovery

Focus On: (3361) Orpheus

Gifted Thracian bard in Greek legend. The best-known story involves Orpheus venturing into the underworld to try to bring back his wife Eurydike after she died from a snake bite. He lost her again just as they were returning to the upper world, after failing to keep a prohibition on looking back at her on the journey.

Focus On: (3361) Orpheus Read Post »

Daedalus, Icarus, Queen Pasiphaë, and two of her attendants in a Roman mosaic from Zeugma, Commagene.
Apollo group, Asteroids, Focus On, Near-Earth objects, Sagittarius discovery

Focus On: (1566) Icarus

Name origin: Cretan mortal, son of the great craftsman Daedalus, who made wings held together with beeswax to help the two of them escape the island. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, nor too close to the sea. Overcome by giddiness while flying, Icarus disobeyed his father and came too close to the sun, and the heat melted the beeswax. He fell into the sea and drowned.

Focus On: (1566) Icarus Read Post »

Detail of a panorama of Mandeville, Jamaica, looking north. Photo by Op. Deo.
Asteroids, Central main belt objects, Focus On, Main belt objects, Virgo discovery

Focus On: (739) Mandeville

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.

Focus On: (739) Mandeville Read Post »

Asteroids, Central main belt objects, Focus On, Hansa family, Main belt objects, Sagittarius discovery

Focus On: (480) Hansa

Name origin: The Hanseatic League, a northern continental European commercial and defensive confederation of cities. The word ‘hansa’ or ‘hanse’ means ‘convoy’ in Old German, and refers to the merchants travelling between points in the League. While the area was not generally independent, it was influential and had diplomatic privileges. Some of the Gothic architecture remains.

Focus On: (480) Hansa Read Post »

Detail of a mediaeval manuscript page featuring Prudencia (crowned), at top riding a wagon and then a horse to the celestial Empyrean; at bottom, addressing young women.
Asteroids, Central main belt objects, Focus On, Main belt objects, Virgo discovery

Focus On: (474) Prudentia

Name origin: Roman personification of prudence. Prudentia, whose attributes are a mirror and a snake, is frequently depicted as a pair with Justitia, the Roman goddess of Justice. The word “prudence” derives from the Latin prudentia meaning “foresight, sagacity”.

Focus On: (474) Prudentia Read Post »

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, Inner main belt objects, Main belt objects

Focus On: (432) Pythia

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.

Focus On: (432) Pythia Read Post »

Scroll to Top