Asteroid discovered in Latvia named after songwriter Eduards Rozenštrauhs

An asteroid discovered in 2011 at the University of Latvia’s Baldone Astrophysical Observatory has been named after the Latvian songwriter Eduards Rozenštrauhs. The International Astronomical Union has approved its permanent number and name, (856173) Rozenštrauhs, LSM, the Latvian public broadcaster, reported on 13 November.

Ilgmārs Eglītis, a lead researcher at the university’s Institute of Astronomy, spotted the asteroid in the main asteroid belt shortly after midnight on 3 September 2011, using the Baldone Schmidt telescope. Kazimieras Černis, a researcher at Vilnius University, provided precise measurements of its position. In the year of its discovery the object was given the provisional designation 2011 SF81.

A kilometre wide, between Mars and Jupiter

The asteroid is about a kilometre in diameter. It travels between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter on an elongated path and takes 3.65 years to circle the Sun.

When it was discovered, the asteroid was low in the sky in the constellation Pisces, with a magnitude of only 20.5, so it could be seen only with the powerful Baldone Schmidt telescope. A total of 103 measurements taken over six oppositions allow its position to be predicted 100 years ahead to within 0.73 arcseconds.

Songs for family celebrations

The name and its citation were published at the end of July in the WGSBN Bulletin of the IAU working group on small-body nomenclature. The citation says Rozenštrauhs (1918–1992) was one of Latvia’s most beloved songwriters, whose songs became an integral part of Latvian culture and are traditionally sung at family celebrations.