CfA Release No.: 2007-23

For Release: Tuesday, October 9, 2007

ASTEROID NAMED IN HONOR OF 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPACE AGE

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the start of the Space Age, an
asteroid has been named "Astronautica." Minor planet number 100,000 (also
known as 1982 SH1) was chosen for this honor because space is defined to
begin at an altitude of 100,000 meters (100 kilometers, or 62 miles) above
Earth's surface.

"Fifty years ago, a tiny satellite named Sputnik became the world's first
artificial satellite. It seemed only fitting to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the dawn of the Space Age in some astronomical way," said
Brian Marsden, director emeritus of the Minor Planet Center, which is
located at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass.

The Minor Planet Center serves as a clearinghouse for asteroid discoveries
and assigns numbers in the order that observations are received and
catalogued. Astronautica received the number 100,000 in October 2005. It was
discovered by astronomer Jim Gibson of Palomar Observatory on September 28,
1982, only days before the 25th anniversary of Sputnik.

"Astronautica is not a particularly unusual object," Marsden said. "It just
happened to be the 100,000th entry into our database."

The name was approved by the International Astronomical Union's Committee on
Small Body Nomenclature, of which Marsden is a member. Currently, 14,077
asteroids have names while a total of 164,612 asteroids have been identified
and numbered.

"Typically the discoverer names the asteroid, but the committee sometimes
takes the initiative for special numbers," explained Marsden. "October 4,
2007 was an important anniversary, and we felt it was right to recognize it
this way. We wanted a name with a broad international appeal, so we chose
'Astronautica,' which comes from the Latin for 'star sailor.'"

Astronautica is a space rock about a mile in size. Due to its small size and
low mass, it is undoubtedly a misshapen lump like many asteroids.

Its orbit lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It circles the Sun at
an average distance of about 175 million miles. A "year' on Astronautica
lasts around 940 days-the equivalent of 2.6 Earth years.

Astronauts may visit Astronautica some day, using tethers to anchor
themselves to the surface in the asteroid's weak gravity. However, that day
is far in the future. Space travelers are likely to head to near-Earth
objects like Eros well before making the long trip to the asteroid belt.

"Perhaps on the 100th anniversary of Sputnik, a tour group will visit
Astronautica," Marsden grinned.

An orbital diagram of (100000) Astronautica is available online at
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2007/pr200723_images.html

Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics (CfA) is a joint collaboration between the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory. CfA
scientists, organized into six research divisions, study the origin,
evolution and ultimate fate of the universe.