Asteroid Named After Auburn Faculty Member For Contributions To Planetary Science

By Chris AnthonyAuburn University

An Auburn University faculty member has joined an elite group of scientists and engineers whose contributions to planetary science have warranted an asteroid naming.

Masatoshi Hirabayashi, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, was honored with the asteroid naming at the “Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 2017” conference in Montevideo, Uruguay, earlier this year. Hirabayashi’s asteroid, 11471 Toshihirabayashi, was discovered on March 6, 1981, at the Siding Spring observatory in Australia by astronomer Schelte Bus.

After the discovery of an asteroid, it is given a temporary name and then a catalog number when its orbit is more accurately determined. The International Astronomical Union’s committee on small body nomenclature is in charge of selecting asteroid names based on contributions to planetary science.“Having an asteroid name is a rare and tremendous honor for scientists and engineers,” Hirabayashi said. “I am humbled that the committee placed such great value on my work, and I aim to continue producing influential research results in this area.”

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