Asteroid ‘Snowdonia’ discovered by FTN and named by schools
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By Lothar Kurtze
When talking about ‘Snowdonia’, people will most likely think about a region in North Wales with scenic landscapes - from sandy beaches to wooded valleys, and from clear blue lakes to rugged mountains. But since April 2nd, Snowdonia is also the name of an asteroid which was discovered and named by participants of the FT NEO / Asteroid project.
Panorama of Snowdonia including Snowdon (centre right) taken from Mynydd Mawr. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.
On November 19th 2004, Lothar Kurtze made a series of routine observations of the mainbelt asteroid 2003 SM15 at TU-Darmstadt, Germany. Later that day, an astronomy student called Felix Hormuth analyzed the images. Looking very closely, he found an object moving against the stars in the background. He measured the position and checked the database of the Minor Planet Center in the USA: there was no known object at this position.
Discovery image of the asteroid 'Snowdonia'
To get such a discovery acknowledged, the object must be observed on at least one more occasion. However, poor weather conditions at Haleakala made further observations impossible for several days. Luckily, the object was bright enough to be observed with smaller telescopes too, so Felix booked time at a commercial remote telescope in Arizona. Finally on December 10th, the object was confirmed with observations from both the Faulkes Telescope North, and the telescope in Arizona. Felix measured the positions and soon the Minor Planet Center confirmed the discovery for the Faulkes Telescope NEO / Asteroid Project. The object was given the temporary designation 2004 WB10.
Before an asteroid can be named its orbit must be accurately known, this required further astrometric observations of the new asteroid. UK schools were asked to participate in this ‘follow up’ work. On February 5th 2006, David Bowdley, the FT Education Director, was pleased to report that in response to a request, 8 schools had obtained images of the asteroid. We would like to specially thank The Leys School, The West Monmouth School, St David's Catholic College, Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, At-Bristol, University College School in London, Belmont House School and The Kingsley School for their help!
The orbit of Snowdonia with the asteroids’ position during the discovery, Nov. 19, 2004
Snowdonia is possibly the most famous area of Wales. Awareness of this important national park needs to be improved and the park protected. Naming the asteroid Snowdonia is a tribute to the Faulkes Telescope Project’s location at Cardiff University, and it also acknowledges the discoverers’ visit to North Wales in June 2006 where they took several hikes in the Snowdonia National Park.
Special thanks go to Dr. Sarah Roberts who provided the citation for this suggestion.
Official Citation:
In the North-western region of Wales a range of scenic landscapes from sandy beaches to wooded valleys and clear blue lakes to rugged mountains can be found. Snowdon, the highest peak in England and Wales, dominates the horizon of North Wales.
Facts about the asteroid Snowdonia:
Asteroid (129092)
Temporary Designation: 2004 WB10
Discovered: 19/11/2004
Orbital Period: 5.3 years
Location: “Main belt of asteroids”, between Mars and Jupiter
Approximate Size: 3 - 6 km
