It’s official: asteroid is named “North Dakota” UND astronomer gets official “OK” to name space rock after state
01/23/2009 — It’s official: asteroid is named ‘North Dakota’
UND astronomer gets official ‘OK’ to name space rock after state
University of North Dakota (UND) graduate student Vishnu Reddy has the official OK from the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to name an asteroid he discovered “North Dakota.”
“We’re going to present the citation naming the asteroid to Gov. John Hoeven next month,” during a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in North Dakota Day Space at the State Capitol, said Reddy, who has discovered 18 main belt asteroids, several binary asteroids (twin asteroids), and a supernova. The event at the Capitol is sponsored by the UND-based North Dakota Space Grant Consortium.
“Asteroid North Dakota revolves around the Sun between Mars and Jupiter in what is called the Main Asteroid Belt,” said Reddy, who has built an international reputation for his ongoing research and discoveries. “The surface temperature of the asteroid is around minus 170 degrees Fahrenheit, a little chilly even for North Dakota standards.
Reddy, who is a PhD candidate in the UND Department of Earth System Science and Policy, discovered the asteroid in 2003 in collaboration with Roy Tucker, a renowned amateur astronomer in Tucson, Arizona. Reddy’s research is supported by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observation program.
Contacts
Vishnu Reddy, UND Department of Earth System Science and Policy
vishnu.kanupuru@und.nodak.edu
Mike Gaffey, professor, UND Department of Space Studies
UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences
(701) 777-2480 gaffey@space.edu
Paul Hardersen, assistant professor, UND Department of Space Studies
Director, North Dakota Space Grant Consortium
UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences
(701) 777-4896 hardersen@space.edu
Suezette Bieri, deputy director, North Dakota Space Grant Consortium
(701) 777-4856 bieri@space.edu
Juan Pedraza, UND Office of University Relations
(701) 777-6571 (office) 701-215-1385 (cell)
juanpedraza@mail.und.edu