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Asteroids were first discovered in 1801. Also known as minor planets, these rocky bodies are believed to have originated as planetesimals (small, solid celestial bodies) during the creation of the solar system, around 4.5 billion years ago. Asteroids orbit the Sun and can be as small as several metres or even as large as hundreds of kilometres in diameter. (See also Planet and Satellite.)
There are estimated to be over 1.3 million asteroids in our solar system. Although most will never be seen by the naked eye, many asteroids are assigned names by the Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union (see Astronomy). Several hundred asteroids have been named in connection to Canada. Some of these asteroids describe places, while others honour people or commemorate events. This list includes ten asteroids which are named after places in Canada.
1. Université Laval, Quebec
In 2003, Université Laval located in Quebec City was bestowed with a great honour when asteroid Laval 14424 was named after the oldest French-language university in North America. The asteroid was discovered in 1991 at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, situated southwest of Tucson, Arizona.
2. Tsawout First Nation, British Columbia
In 2007, astronomer David Balam discovered a two-kilometre wide rocky body with the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope from the Mauna Kea Observatories in Hawaii. The asteroid was named “Tsawout” in honour of Tsawout First Nation, one of five bands of the Saanich Nation, located north of Victoria (on the Saanich Peninsula). (See also First Nations in British Columbia.) Balam had a family connection to Tsawout First Nation and this was one of the reasons for naming the asteroid Tsawout. In 2018, Balam presented then Chief Harvey Underwood of Tsawout First Nation, a plaque to commemorate the naming Asteroid 402920 Tsawout.
3. Annapolis, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a small community of around 500 people in Nova Scotia which is considered a hub of arts and culture, infused with Mik’maq traditions and heritage. In 2023, the growing town became the namesake of Asteroid 516560. Canadian astronomer David Balam discovered the asteroid in 2006 via Hawaii’s Mauna Kea Observatories. The asteroid is about the same size as Annapolis Royal, 1.5 km in diameter. Balam was inspired to name the rock after Annapolis due to its long history as one of Canada's oldest European settlements, dating back to 1605.
4. Mont Mégantic, Quebec
During his lifetime, Belgian astronomer Henri Debehogne (1928-2007) discovered more than 700 asteroids. Among them was a minor planet which was between 17 and 37 km in diameter. Debehogne located the celestial body in 1990 from La Silla, an observatory in Chile which benefits from having some of the darkest skies on the planet.
In 1998, the asteroid was named 4843 Mégantic in honour of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Mont Mégantic Observatory in Quebec’s Eastern Townships region (see Blue Mountains). The observatory’s 1.6-metre-tall telescope is accessible to the public during the yearly Festival d’astronomie populaire du Mont-Mégantic.
5. Kenmount HiIl, Newfoundland
Kenmount Hill is a popular place for mountain biking in St. John’s, Newfoundland. It’s a high point in the city and the place that John Winthrop, a math and astronomy professor from Harvard College, travelled to in 1761. During this important American scientific expedition Winthrop observed the Transit of Venus, a rare astronomical alignment in which the planet Venus crosses the face of the Sun as seen from Earth. Asteroid 22422 honours the location of this important scientific expedition.
6. Klondike, Yukon
In 1940, Finnish astronomer, Yrjö Väisälä (1891-1971) discovered a new asteroid from the Vartiovuori Observatory at the Royal Academy of Turku in Finland. The asteroid would later be named after a region in the Yukon, known as the Klondike. Asteroid 3166 Klondike recalls brothers Karl F. Joutsen and Anton F. Johnson, who profited from a gold mine during the Klondike Gold Rush. The brothers donated to the University of Turku in Finland in 1954.
7. Kejimkujik, Nova Scotia
If you live in southwest Nova Scotia, chances are that you’ve heard of Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site. The word Kejimkujik is a Mi'kmaw word and refers to the exertion required in paddling across Kejimkujik Lake. Many people visit Kejimkujik to see the old growth forest, petroglyphs, and rare creatures such as the Blanding’s turtle. Kejimkujik is considered a sacred place for the Mi'kmaq peoples and it was declared a Dark Sky Preserve in 2010.
In 2006, Dr. Paul Wiegert, a professor from the University of Western Ontario observed an asteroid with a diameter of two kilometres. In 2022, the International Astronomical Union applied the name Kejimkujik to minor planet 497593.
8. SNO, Ontario
Most asteroids are located hundreds of millions of kilometres away from Earth, in the asteroid belt, and 14724 SNO is no exception. When it came to naming the minor planet, discovered in 2000, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) selected a place located two kilometres below the Earth. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) was an underground laboratory that was built to study the smallest known particle in the universe, the neutrino. Opening in 1998, SNO was the only laboratory of its kind in Canada and was created to determine if neutrinos change “flavour” (the word used to describe the three types of neutrinos) as they travel to the Earth from the sun. Neutrinos do change flavour. SNO was decommissioned in 2007, but the quest to better understand neutrinos continues on with SNOLAB. (See also Sudbury.)
9. Dominiona
Did you know that the Dominion of Canada is the formal title of Canada? Asteroid 24899 Dominiona remembers this term. Dominion, which means ‘that which is mastered or ruled’, was first applied in 1867 during Confederation when the new country of Canada was established. This term was used by Britain to describe its colonies and territorial possessions. Over the decades, Canada stopped being referred to as a dominion and in 1982, Canada ended most colonial ties with Britain when it patriated its constitution. This meant the country’s highest law, the British North America Act (renamed the Constitution Act, 1867), was transferred from the authority of the British Parliament to Canada’s federal and provincial legislatures.
10. Arctica
Sergay Belyavskij (1883-1953) was a Russian astronomer. Belyavskij discovered 36 minor planets during his career including a new asteroid in 1924 from the Simeïs Observatory in Crimea. This minor planet is known as 1031 Arctica, named after the northernmost part of the Earth. The Arctic is a massive polar region which includes the Arctic Ocean and portions of Canada, Russia, Greenland, Norway, Alaska, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. (See also Arctic Circle.)
