Vilnius University has named an asteroid in honour of St Casimir, Lithuania’s first saint and patron.
The university said Monday that the asteroid was actively observed at various observatories between 2013 and 2019, with its orbit finalised in 2024.
Kazimieras Černis, a scientist at Vilnius University’s Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, said he chose the name because of the saint’s historical and religious significance.
“We discovered the asteroid in 2013 at the Baldone Observatory, together with Ilgmārs Eglītis. It will be clearly visible again this September in the constellation Pisces, near the border with Aquarius,” he said.
“Unfortunately, due to restrictions from the International Astronomical Union, which registers celestial body names, my suggestion to include ‘St’ in the name to denote the patron of Lithuania was rejected. Therefore, it was named Casimir instead of St Casimir, without indicating his sanctity,” Černis added.
According to the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center database, asteroid (635483) Casimir is on average 2.20 times farther from the sun than Earth and orbits the sun in three years and 99 days.
Černis and his colleagues have named more than 150 asteroids, about 100 of which bear Lithuanian names or are linked to Lithuanian history.
Vilnius University and Latvian astronomers have collaborated for 17 years. During that time, they have discovered about 60 asteroids that require names, including several rare ones. The scientists work together at the Baldone Observatory, located 30 kilometres south of Riga.
“We have agreed with the Latvians that we search for asteroids together at the Baldone Observatory, and we share the discoveries equally – they propose one name, and we propose the other,” Černis said.
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