1/23/2010:
The Associated Press issued a release on this date last year announcing that Asteroid #114703 would henceforth become known as "Asteroid North Dakota." Renaming the asteroid was proposed by UND graduate student Vishnu Reddy of India, and approved by the International Astronomical Union's Committee on Small Body Nomenclature. Reddy discovered the two-mile long space rock while researching at an observatory in Arizona, and decided to honor the state of his graduate studies because he hoped it would draw attention to the state's dark skies. Because North Dakota lacks a large population and subsequent light pollution, its skies are ideal for astronomical observations, but the state does not have an observatory or high-power telescope. Asteroid North Dakota is located between Mars and Jupiter, and has a surface temperature of 170 degrees below zero, which Reddy commented was "chilly even by North Dakota standards." It is one of only fourteen asteroids named for U. S. states.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
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