Small Solar System Body Named After IYA2009
18 February 2009
The International Astronomical Union Working Group on Small Bodies Nomenclature has decided to name a minor Solar System body after IYA2009. Its official designation is now (58664) IYAMMIX. The year 2009 is written in Roman numerals, MMIX, following the official guidelines for small Solar System bodies naming.
Discovered on 21 December 1997 by J. Ticha and M. Tichy at the Klet Observatory in Czech Republic, IYAMMIX, formerly known as 1997 YA1, takes 3.65 years to complete one of its elliptical orbits around the Sun. The orbit is inclined by 4.1 degrees to the ecliptic plan. Its diameter is thought to be in the region of 2 to 4 km. Not much more is known about (58664) IYAMMIX, making it a mysterious world waiting to be researched, mirroring IYA2009's motto: "The Universe, Yours to Discover."
The image of small Solar System body IYAMMIX = 1997 YA1 was taken on 30 December 1997 using the 0.57m f/5.2 reflector + CCD camera SBIG ST-8 of the Klet Observatory (South Bohemia, Czech Republic). The exposure was 60 seconds long, and the minor planet has been arrowed. The field of view is 16 to 10 arcminutes with north to the top and west to the right. Credit: Jana Ticha and Milos Tichy.
Orbit of the minor planet (58664) IYAMMIX discovered at the Klet Observatory. Credit: Klet Observatory (South Bohemia, Czech Republic).
IAU Division III - Committee on Small Body Nomenclature webpage: http://www.ss.astro.umd.edu/IAU/csbn/
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