Call this is a “heavenly” surprise.
“In September, the Minor Planet Center (MPC)—an international astronomical monitoring agency—published its latest list of approved names for known asteroids. Among these is asteroid 1982XB, which has been given the name (3757) Anagolay, after the ancient Tagalog goddess of lost things,” reports Bea Montenegro on GMA News Online.
The report noted: “Asteroid 1982XB was discovered in 1982 by E. F. Helin at the Palomar Observatory. It is half a kilometer in diameter and takes almost two and a half years to go around the sun.”
The report revealed that the name “Anagolay” was submitted by Filipino student Mohammad Abqary Alon. The report explained that “it bested over a thousand entries from 85 countries in a contest held by the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), an international non-government organization that represents university students and young professionals in the United Nations, in the space industry, and in academia.”
Filipino astronomer Rogel Mari Sese had recently shared the SGAC’s official announcement on his Facebook wall.
Photo from MorgueFile (for illustration purposes only)
