Mister Rogers Asteroid

Wouldn’t you like to be my interstellar neighbor?
Source: ABC Philadelphia

From Asteroid Named for Mister Rogers”

PITTSBURGH-May 1, 2003 — Mister Rogers’ star – or rather his asteroid –continues to rise. Officials at the Carnegie Science Center say the International Astronomical Union has named an asteroid for Fred McFeely Rogers.
Rogers, the creator of public television’s “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” died February 27th at age 74.

“Misterrogers” will be the name of the asteroid, formerly known as Number 26858.

The astronomers’ group names comets, asteroids and surface features – like Moon craters – after people. The honor cannot be bought, and is based on merits judged by the astronomers.

Among other things, Rogers is being honored for helping the science center develop a planetarium show – “The Sky Above Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” – that plays at about 15 planetaria across the country.

“I doubt that there are many who have not been touched in some way by the life and work of Fred Rogers,” said John G. Radzilowicz, director of the Henry Buhl Jr. Planetarium & Observatory at the science center.

The asteroid in question was discovered in 1993 by E.F. Helin at Palomar Observatory in California.

There are about 30,000 known asteroids orbiting the sun, and about 9,000 of them have names. They are named for everyone from famous scientists, like “Newtonia” and “Sagan,” to personalities in other fields, including “Johnny” (in honor of TV host Johnny Carson), “Cronkite” and “Jesseowens.”

“Misterrogers” can be found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and is about 218 million miles from the Sun, which it takes about 3½ years to orbit.