Today we have an asteroid with a name from a source I wasn’t expecting. 176 Iduna, discovered on the 14th of October 1877 by Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters, was apparently named, by its discoverer, in honour of a social club in Stockholm that had hosted a meeting of the Astronomischen Gesellschaft (literally Astronomical Society) in 1877. This G-type main belt asteroid still manages, though, to have a mythological connection. The social club (the Ydun) got its name from a Norse goddess, Iðunn, associated with youth and apples. The name translates vaguely into English as “ever young”.
That’s twice in two weeks I’ve been able to find a flimsy reason to sneak my own photographs in. Last time it was Copenhagen: today it’s Stockholm. To redress the balance, here’s a picture of the goddess Iðunn as well:
(Iðunn is the one with the apples.)
1884 – Discovery of asteroid 244 Sita by Johann Palissa.
1964 – Launch of Kosmos 48.
It's All Going On Up There 