Small Body Community Names Asteroids after CSH Members

Every three years the small body community meets for the Asteroids Comets Meteors (ACM) conference. One of the traditions of this conference is to honor members of the community for their contributions to the field with the naming of asteroids in their name. In 2026, five current and former UniBE colleagues were honored, among them four CSH members.

As part of this year's Asteroids Comets Meteors (ACM) conference, taking place in Poland, the Working Group Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the latest names of small bodies. As part of the IAU, the WGSBN is responsible for assigning names to minor planets, comets and satellites of minor planets.

Among the 200+ newly named small planetary bodies are three current and former members of the University of Bern, two of which are affiliated with the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH).

Prof. em. Dr. Kathrin Altwegg

Kathrin Altwegg (b. 1951) is a Swiss planetary scientist and professor emerita at the University of Bern, renowned for leading the ROSINA instrument on ESA’s Rosetta mission. Her pioneering work on comet 67P transformed our understanding of the chemical complexity of pristine Solar System matter, inspiring a new generation of scientists. She also founded and was the first director of the Center for Space and Habitability at the University of Bern.

(20448) Kathrinaltwegg was discovered as 1999 JM69 at Socorro on 1999-05-12 by LINEAR.

20448 on the Minor Planet Center Database

Prof. Dr. Susanne Wampfler

Susanne Wampfler (b. 1981) is a Swiss astronomer. She is an expert in astrochemistry, working on the compositional and isotopic links between star-forming environments and primitive solar system matter. Susanne contributed to the detection of ammonium salts and the determination of the isotopic and molecular inventories of comet 67P. SNF Eccellenza Professor at the Center for Space and Habitability, she also served as equal opportunities officer and was part of NCCR PlanetS.

(20744) Susannewampfler was dicovered as 2000 AO151 at Socorro on 2000-01-08 by LINEAR.

20744 on the Minor Planet Center Database

Dr. Pierre-Etienne Martin

Pierre-Etienne Martin (b. 1993) is a French planetary scientist at the University of Bern, investigating micron- to submicron-sized inclusions in Martian and carbonaceous meteorites (CMs). During his PhD, he studied refractory inclusions to assess aqueous alteration in CMs and joined the Hayabusa2 returned-samples analysis team. In Bern, he was part of Prof. Ingo Leya’s Cosmochemistry research group at the Space Research and Planetary Sciences division of the Physics Institute.

(20594) Pemartin was discoverd as 1999 RP183 at Socorro on 1999-09-09 by LINEAR.

20594 on the Minor Planet Center Database

 

The WGSBN does not only name planetary bodies during the conference; new names for small bodies are approved several times throughout the year. Earlier this year, on February 23, the working group’s publication “WGSBN Bulletin” announced the names of 50+ re-named minor planets. Among them another two CSH members.

Danielle Zemp

Danielle Zemp (b. 1964) is a Swiss administrator who has been the backbone supporting astrophysicists at the Center for Space and Habitability of the University of Bern and at the International Space Science Institute in Bern, Switzerland for many years. She shares a lifelong fascination with astronomy with her father.

(308753) Daniellezemp was discovered as 2006 JD79 at Maunakea on 2006-05-01 by P. A. Wiegert.

308753 on the Minor Planet Center Database

Guido Schwarz

Guido Schwarz (b. 1965) is a Swiss science communicator and space enthusiast. Fascinated by the cosmos since childhood, he has devoted his career to sharing knowledge about space exploration and spaceflight with the public. As founder and director of the Swiss Space Museum, Guido promotes science and inspires curiosity in people of all ages. At the University of Bern, he is a member of the outreach and communication team of the Center for Space and Habitability and the Space Research and Planetary Science division (WP) and was part of the NCCR PlanetS outreach team.

(309426) Guidoschwarz was discovered as 2007 TX412 at Maunakea on 2006-05-25 by P. A. Wiegert.

309426 on the Minor Planet Center Database

 

The CSH is thrilled to have members of our community recognized for their valuable contributions to the field of space research and congratulates them on this honor.

Notably, this is not the first time that members of the University of Bern have been honored in this way.

In 2023, asteroid 28887 Sabina was named after Dr. Sabina Raducan—formerly with the Space Research and Planetary Sciences division (WP) and NCCR PlanetS, now Science Program Manager at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI)—and asteroid 34409 Venturini was named after Dr. Julia Venturini—Senior Research Associate and SNSF Ambizione Fellow at the University of Geneva, formerly a PhD student at the University of Bern and a Postdoc at ISSI.

In 2021, Prof. Dr. Raphael Marschall, now Associate Professor at the Space Research and Planetary Sciences division (WP), became namesake to the asteroid 33937 Raphaelmarschall, and asteroid 35534 Clementfeller was named for Dr. Clement Feller, formerly a Postdoc with the Planetary Imaging Group at WP.