Asteroids named after Museum scientists studying the early solar system

Two of the Museum’s scientists have received an honour that’s out of this world.

Dr Helena Bates and Dr Ashley King are experts in the study of meteorites and asteroids, using them to find out more about how the solar system came into being. In recognition of their work, they’ve now each had an asteroid named after them.

‘It’s a great honour, and it came as a complete surprise,’ Helena says. ‘When Ashley told me I didn’t think it was real at first, and I thought he was taking the mick out of me!’

‘It’s amazing,’ Ashley adds. ‘It was really lovely news to wake up to, and it’s fantastic recognition from the community for the work we do at the Museum.’

In addition to Ashley and Helena, Dr Penny Wozniakiewicz, a Scientific Associate of the Museum, has also received the honour of having an asteroid named after her.

While there aren’t yet any plans to visit 28994 Helenabates or 31551 Ashleyking, their namesakes will be among a team of international researchers who are set to work on samples recovered from the asteroid Bennu as part of the OSIRIS-REx mission.

How do you find an asteroid?

At this very moment, a vast array of equipment is trained on outer space. From radio telescopes finding out about early galaxies to space telescopes like James Webb and Hubble, this technology is giving us an ever clearer look at our universe.

It’s also improving our knowledge of what’s closer to home. By looking at space and tracking changes between different observations, astronomers can detect the presence of an ever-increasing number of asteroids.

‘When we look through telescopes, stars appear to be static, while asteroids move from one moment to the next,’ Helena explains. ‘By comparing multiple telescope images to each other, we can identify where an asteroid is orbiting.’

‘Further analysis can be performed using radio waves and other wavelengths of light to narrow down its characteristics, like its size and shape.’

Once identified, every asteroid is given a number to identify it, and it’s also traditional to give it a name.

When asteroids were first discovered in the 1800s, this was relatively simple as they were generally named after mythological figures. However, with over 24,000 asteroids and minor planets having now been named, the subjects now come from a wide variety of areas.

Celebrities such as William Shatner, fictional characters such as Bilbo Baggins, and even pets are among individuals honoured with having an asteroid named after them.

The job of deciding whether or not a proposed name becomes official rests with the International Astronomical Union, with a team of 15 scientists voting on new names. They use a strict set of rules to decide whether the new names pass muster, before publishing new names in the WGSBN bulletin.

In general, asteroids named after businesses, controversial figures or generic terms won’t be accepted, although asteroids given their name before the rules were set down, like 2138 Swissair (named after the airline), can keep their name.

A name might also be rejected for certain types of asteroid if it doesn’t stick to a specific theme. For instance, asteroids found in the same orbit as Jupiter, are named after figures from the Trojan War or athletes from the Olympic and Paralympic games.

In general, however, most asteroids tend to be named by scientists to recognise the work of their peers, with Ashley and Helena the latest in a long line of honoured researchers.

What can we learn from asteroids?

One of the standout moments in both Ashley and Helena’s careers was the chance to work with material returned from an asteroid known as Ryugu. It was visited by the Hayabusa2 probe, which successfully brought samples of it back to Earth.

Studies of Ryugu have revealed more about how the solar system formed, and it’s hoped that investigations of Bennu will reveal even more. The samples are set to land back on Earth this September, with one portion being sent to the Museum for analysis.

‘With Bennu, we’re interested in finding out about its history when it was part of a larger body,’ Helena says. ‘We think it was once a lot bigger before being destroyed, with some of the debris reaccumulating into the Bennu that we know today.’

‘We’re interested in what was happening in that larger body, and studying the water locked up in the samples can help us answer broader questions about it.’

‘These asteroids contain all the ingredients you need to form a planet like Earth,’ Ashley adds. ‘If you want somewhere with liquid oceans and life, it’ll be asteroids like Bennu which tell us how that happened.’

This time around, the team are hoping for a larger sample of asteroid material to work with. Only around five grams of Ryugu was returned to Earth, but it’s hoped that OSIRIS-REx could bring back a lot more.

‘While we can do a lot with very small amounts, it limits some of our options for how we analyse samples,’ Helena explains. ‘OSIRIS-REx is set to bring back hundreds of grams, which might allow us to use different instruments and techniques to find out more about these asteroids.’

While both Ryugu and Bennu are near-Earth asteroids, orbiting within a couple of hundred thousand kilometres of Earth, 28994 Helenabates and 31551 Ashleyking are millions of kilometres away. Any attempt to study main belt asteroids will be much more challenging.

‘It would be amazing to one day be able to work on 31551 Ashleyking, but it’s not going to happen any time soon,’ Ashley says. ‘Collecting samples from near-Earth asteroids took the best part of a decade, so going to the main belt would take even longer.’

Challenges such as these mean that there is still a lot we don’t know about asteroids. While Ashley, Penny and Helena keep up their research down on Earth, a small part of them, at least in spirit, will be up among the stars.