Dr. Kazimieras Černis, a scientist at the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University (VU), named 7 asteroids Trojans in honor of Lithuanian Olympians. Among them are as many as three track and field athletes: discus throwers Mykolas Alekna and Romas Ubartas, and heptathlete Austra Skujytė.

Alongside them on the list are swimmer Rūta Meilutytė, basketball player Šarūnas Marčiulionis, boxer Danas Pozniakas, and shooter Daina Gudzinevičiūtė.

“Among these athletes are older generations as well as athletes who performed excellently in elite sports events this summer, thus making Lithuania’s name known worldwide. They are huge authorities both for other athletes and for sports enthusiasts. I have seen this since childhood. I believe that Olympians truly deserve such a commemoration,” the astronomer says.

The VU astronomer discovered asteroids at different observatories. The trojans “Pozniakas,” “Meilutytė,” and “Gudzinevičiūtė” were found at the Vilnius University Molėtai Astronomical Observatory in 2009 together with Vilnius University scientist Dr. Justas Zdanavičius; “Alekna” was discovered there with Edvards Černis; in 2008, “Marčiulionis” was discovered at the Baldone Astronomical Observatory in Latvia together with Dr. Ilgmārs Eglītis; and in 2015, “Ubartas” was discovered at the Jesuit Vatican Observatory with priest Dr. Richard P. Boyle. The trojan “Skujytė” was discovered by the “Spacewatch” astronomical observation project at the Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona.

These are not the first asteroids named after Dr. K. Černis in honor of Lithuanian athletes. K. Černis. Besides them, “Sabonis” and “Vitkauskas” are already flying in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU), which gives names to celestial bodies, has identified a separate group of asteroids called Trojans, which can be named exclusively after Olympians.

“Trojans orbit the sun for 12 years, together with Jupiter. They are interesting because they are quite far from Earth and move in different orbits than typical asteroids. Previously, they were named after Trojan war heroes, but some time ago a decision was made to give them the title of Olympians as well. So now all the large asteroids in this group have Greek names, while the smaller ones are offered athlete names. One of the first Trojans my and my colleagues discovered was named Sabonis,” says Dr. K. Černis.

Since 2004, Dr. K. Černis and his colleagues have named more than 250 asteroids, at least half of which have Lithuanian names or names related to Lithuanian history.

More about asteroids:

(352655) “Alekna.” According to data from the International Astronomical Union’s Small Planets Center database, the asteroid (352655) “Alekna” is on average 5.2 times farther from the Sun than Earth and orbits the Sun in 11 years and 358 days. “Alekna” will approach Earth again on March 28, 2027 – the minimum distance will be about 659 million km. At that time, it will be around magnitude 20, making it visible with medium-sized astronomical telescopes. The asteroid will appear in the Varna constellation when viewing conditions in Lithuania are among the most favorable.

(811110) “Ubartas.” According to the International Astronomical Union’s Small Planets Center database, the asteroid (811110) “Ubartas” is on average 5.2 times farther from the Sun than Earth and orbits the Sun in 11 years and 307 days. “Ubartas” will approach Earth again on May 15, 2028 – the minimum distance will be about 646 million km. At that time, it will be about magnitude 21, making it visible to medium-sized astronomical telescopes. The asteroid will appear in the Libra constellation when viewing conditions in Lithuania are among the most favorable.

(22404) “Skujyte.” According to the International Astronomical Union’s Small Planets Center database, the asteroid (22404) “Skujytė” is on average 5.3 times farther from the Sun than Earth and orbits the Sun in 12 years and 15 days. “Skujyte” will approach Earth again on April 14, 2027 – the minimum distance will be about 682 million km. At that time, it will be about magnitude 19, making it visible to medium-sized astronomical telescopes. The asteroid will appear in the Virgo constellation when viewing conditions in Lithuania are among the most favorable.

Material from Vilnius University

Photo by Alfredas Pliadis