Bernardbowen: Newly Named Minor Planet In The Solar System

A minor planet discovered on October 28, 1991 finally has a decent name. It is called Bernardbowen.

Deccan Chronicle reported that the minor planet previously dubbed as (6196) 1991 UO4, which is located within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, has recently been given a name by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). Named after the ICRAR founder Dr. Bernard Bowen, the celestial body is among the 17 minor planets baptized by citizen scientists on Feb. 19.

Dr. Bernard Bowen, an Australian science administrator, is renowned for his scientific advances in matters ranging from oceans to skies. He was also among the group of scientists who brought the Square Kilometre Array telescope to Western Australia.

Founders of the ICRAR-based citizen science project theSkyNet won the right to name the minor planet. This was after the Australian team signed up for the International Astronomical Union (IAU) contest, which gave citizen scientists the privilege to name minor planets within the Solar System as well as other exoplanets.

According to Gizmodo, asteroids, dwarf planets, Kuiper belt objects, trojans, centaurs and other trans-Neptunian objects are considered as minor planets. These cosmic objects are in direct orbit around the Sun, which would particularly take 3.26 Earth years for Bernardbowen's case.

Dr. Bernard Bowen founded ICRAR in 2009. The Australian science administrator is renowned for his scientific advances in matters ranging from oceans to skies and has helped in bringing the Square Kilometre Array telescope to Western Australia.

Among the minor planets named include Kagura (after a traditional Shinto dance), Mehdia (an Arabic word for gift), Tanezaki (a Japanese beach), F´ecamp (a French town), Hubelmatt (a Swiss public school), Thunder Bay ("the Lakehead" in Canada), and Royaldutchastro (after a Dutch association for astronomy and meteorology).

Published on the IAU Minor Planet Circular, other minor planets were also named after a wide range of esteemed personalities such as astronomers, historians, authors, a mathematician, a poet, a journalist, a museum curator, a marathon champion, a remarkable brain-tumor patient, a musician and a medical doctor.

Minor planet in the Solar System will be named Bernardbowen, in honour of @ICRAR founding Chairman, Dr Bernard Bowen https://t.co/p3vR7fvzjz pic.twitter.com/ELcHpiCyfH

— UWA (@uwanews) February 17, 2017