There is now an asteriod named after the U.
Patrick Wiggins, with the U’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, has named an asteroid “Univofutah.” Wiggins discovered the asteroid on Sept. 8, 2002, at his home observatory in Tooele, Utah. After six years of tracking the asteroid’s orbit and with a confirmation from the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, the asteroid formally known as 391795 (2008 RV77) was officially renamed for the U.
“This puts the University of Utah in a very rare category,” Wiggins said. “There are only a dozen or so universities with this honor in the world, and the U is the only one in Utah, as far as I can tell from my own looking into it.”
Wiggins said while the initial idea was just to name the asteroid “University of Utah,” there were certain naming conventions that had to be followed. One of these conventions required the name to be sixteen characters or less, which meant the U’s full name was not compatible.
The asteroid is around 1.2 miles across and orbits between Mars and Jupiter, posing no threat to Earth. It is one of over 655,550 known asteroids in the main asteroid belt that exists between Jupiter and Mars. Thousands of asteroids are discovered yearly. Univofutah is the fourth asteroid Wiggins has discovered. Wiggins also discovered his first supernova this year and was awarded NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest honor NASA gives to civilians.
Wiggins teaches at the Natural History Museum of Utah with the Phun with Physics Program, which hosts demonstrations during the museum’s free days.
“I think it’s great to hear that the university is getting recognized for its contributions to astronomy,” said Tyler Kaiser, a sophomore in physics.
Wiggins said this is something all students on campus should be interested in, even if they’re not in physics or astronomy.
“I don’t think you have to be a science person to be interested in it,” Wiggins said. “It would be nice if it did inspire some people to look more into science, but it’s fine if people just think it’s neat.”
Wiggins said while there were a few ideas for other names, he felt the strongest pull to name it after the U because he’s enjoyed his time on campus.
“I was a little concerned that this would be seen as frivolous or boastful, but most everyone thought it would be a good idea,” Wiggins said.
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