UK schoolchildren name newly discovered asteroid 'Snowdonia'(Forwarded)

Royal Astronomical Society
London, U.K.

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CONTACTS:

Dr Paul Roche
Faulkes Telescope Project Director

Mr David Bowdley
Faulkes Telescope Project Education Director

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PRESS INFORMATION NOTE: RAS PN 07/18 (NAM14)

EMBARGOED FOR 00:01 BST, TUESDAY 17 APRIL 2007

SCHOOLCHILDREN NAME NEWLY DISCOVERED ASTEROID 'SNOWDONIA'

Schools from across the UK have named a new asteroid discovered using the
Faulkes Telescope Project's facility in Hawaii. Since early April 2007, a
mountain-sized asteroid found between Mars and Jupiter has been officially
named Snowdonia, as a tribute to the beauty of this famous Welsh region.

The asteroid was officially recognised as part of a Near-Earth Object
observing programme with German astronomers Lothar Kurtze and Felix
Harmouth. UK schoolchildren were recruited by the Faulkes Telescope (FT)
Education Director David Bowdley in spring 2006. They conducted the
follow-up observations necessary to better understand the asteroid's orbit
and ensure its recognition by astronomy authorities.

David Bowdley said: "Helping to study this asteroid and choose a name for
it has been a great inspiration for the students. Working alongside real
scientists has shown how much more can be achieved when people
collaborate. In future we will be running many more projects like this
where students work alongside astronomers to achieve real scientific
outcomes."

Jay Tate from the Spaceguard Centre in Mid Wales is the project's
Near-Earth Object scientific advisor. He said: "Students working with the
Faulkes Telescope Project produce some of the most important data on
asteroids in the UK. Kids love it because they can watch things move, and
more importantly because it's real -- a far cry from many sterile
classroom activities."

The schoolchildren had the final say on three name suggestions made by the
German astronomers, and 'Snowdonia' was the clear winner. The name
acknowledges the location of the FT Operations Centre at Cardiff
University, as well as drawing attention to Snowdonia National Park.

The schools involved included: The Leys School in Cambridge, West Monmouth
School in Pontypool, St David's Catholic College in Cardiff, Simon Langton
Grammar School for Boys in Canterbury, University College School in
London, Belmont House School in Glasgow and The Kingsley School in
Leamington Spa.

Kerry Pendergast teaches Physics and Astronomy at West Monmouth School. He
said: "Observing and naming the new asteroid added an extra dimension to
students' studies and helped them feel part of scientific discovery. When
they had the chance to vote for a Welsh name there really was no
competition!"

Background information:

1. Facts about the asteroid Snowdonia:
Located in the main belt of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, it is
between 3 and 6 km in diameter, and has a rotation period of 5.3 years.
Prior to designation as 'Snowdonia' it was known as 2004 WB10.

Official citation for the asteroid:
'In the Northwestern 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.'

2. The Faulkes Telescope Project aims to provide free access to robotic
telescopes and a fully supported education programme to encourage teachers
and students to engage in research-based science education.

The Faulkes Telescope Project was founded by Dr Martin (Dill) Faulkes in
2004, and operations are based at the School of Physics and Astronomy at
Cardiff University. Dr Faulkes had a vision of providing school children
in the UK with access to the telescopes via the Internet. He built two
observatories, one in Hawaii and the other in North Australia and today,
over 400 schools in the UK are registered in the project. In 2005, Mr
Wayne Rosing, former Senior-Vice President of Google Inc., a key figure in
the IT industry with a passion for astronomy, telescope making and
electronics, bought the Faulkes Telescope Project. Rosing aims to build a
network of telescopes in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres that
will be available to school children and researchers throughout the world.
Find out more at: http://www.faulkes-telescope.com .

3. The Spaceguard Centre aims to develop and maintain a world-class
facility for astronomical research and science education with a view to
furthering the goals of Public Understanding of Science and the Spaceguard
Project. Located in Knighton, Powys, the centre focuses on the threat
posed to mankind by the impact of an asteroid or comet which is now widely
recognised as one of the most significant risks to human civilisation.
http://www.spaceguarduk.com/centre.htm

IMAGES:

Asteroid 'Snowdonia'
http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories.../snowdonia.png (76KB)

Orbit of asteriod 'Snowdonia'
http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories...onia_Orbit.jpg (99KB)

For images of the Faulkes Telescopes, see

http://faulkes-telescope.com/image_g...elescope_North