Joeri van Leeuwen. Since yesterday, a very large asteroid is called that turns around the sun between Mars and Jupiter. The piece of space debris is named after astronomer Joeri van Leeuwen from Astron. “I wish him a good morning this morning,” laughs the proud scientist.
The man van Leeuwen was overwhelmed by the news yesterday. “It was a surprise. If I think about it now, I really like it, but also a bit strange.”
The scientist had never actually thought about a asteroid with his own name. In fact, until yesterday he had never seen it as a dream. “But that might be a bit. A boy’s dream,” says Van Leeuwen.
“Of course we discover a lot as astronomers. I have also discovered everything in the universe, but that will get a song. At a certain point you let those discoveries a bit loose. And now there is the unexpected news that this asteroid is named after me. I can’t think about anything else at the moment.”
That an astronomer from Astron gets a brother or sister in the universe sounds separate, but within the Netherlands it might be logical. Because with the dishes of Astron at former Westerbork camp and the LOFAR antennas at Exloo, the universe can be studied very well from there.
Every year the global trade union of astronomers gives different asteroids a name. That party can be the only one. Scientists can give lectures for this. And there was also Joeri van Leeuwen among those lectures this year.
Why is he? That is guessing for the scientist, although he does have an idea. “I think it is a combination of my curiosity to the universe and that I like to explain to non-scientists about the universe.”
But what exactly is asteroid Joeri van Leeuwen? His earthly name giver explains: “A asteroid is a kind of remnant of when all the planets that rotate around the sun were formed. In the early days there were a lot of collisions between planets at the time and therefore there are all smaller stones around the sun.”
“Many of those asteroids are located between Mars and Jupiter. And one of them is this,” continues an enthusiastic Van Leeuwen. “Just like the earth, he turns around the sun and is about five billion years old. But what the earth takes a year to turn around the sun, this asteroid takes five years.”
Whether the astronomer is in the universe of floating brother or sister will ever see himself, that is just the question. “Joeri van Leeuwen doesn’t really have an address, so that will be difficult. I just stick to the thought,” laughs Van Leeuwen.