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Asteroid P20068/PeterBarthel
On occasion of his stepping-down as the 26th chair of the Society, the Board nominated that an asteroid be named for Peter Barthel in recognition of his contributions to astronomy and to the society. The board presented a certificate of the name awarded by the International Astronomical Union Naming Commission at the Opening Session of the National Astronomers Conference 2025, in Berg-en-Dal, Gelderland.
The asteroid's orbital elements are: Semi Major Axis 2.20AU; Eccentricity 0.164; Inclination 3.99°; Longnitude of Ascending Node 150.97°; Argument of Perihelion 177.66°; Mean Anonmaly 255.15° at 25-Jan-2025
The citation of the name reads:
Pieter Dirk (Peter) Barthel (b. 1952) is a Dutch astronomer who studies active galaxies.
He is Professor Emeritus in Astrophysics at the University of Groningen, and is a former
chair of the Royal Netherlands Astronomical Society. Pieter is a passionate science
communicator, and was awarded the royal distinction of Knight in the Order of the Dutch
Lion.
WGSBN Bulletin, Vol. 5, Issue 7
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