BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy An asteroid for Malala!

There's a little rock about two and a half miles in diameter out between Mars and Jupiter. Its formal name is now 316201 Malala (2010 ML48). It shares its own story with the other space rocks in the asteroid belt. But the story behind its name is very special indeed.

The astronomer who discovered the asteroid, NASA's Amy Mainzer, had the right to name it. And she chose to name it after a very brave and determined young woman, Malala Yousafzai, a campaigner for education for girls. At 17 she has already survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban and been awarded a Nobel Prize.

Girl Power, yeah!

Here is an image of Malala with a picture of the asteroid (circled) circled in the backbround.

I think this is an inspired way to honor a young woman who has chosen a very hard road to travel.

Some people have been wondering how asteroids are named. Most asteroids will never get names, but here's how Naming Asteroids is done.