Cape Town - An asteroid has been named in the honour of University of the Western Cape Professor Carolina Ödman-Govender, who passed away in November last year.
The Swiss-born astrophysicist was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2018 and passed away at the age of 48.
Friends and colleagues recommended that the asteroid be named after her.
Professor Katrien Kolenberg, a professor of Astrophysics and Science Communication at the universities KU Leuven, University of Antwerp and Free University of Brussels in Belgium, said: “There are millions of asteroids in our solar system and of course we don’t know all of them yet, which is why the International Astronomical Union assigns names for these objects as they are discovered.
“The idea was discussed amongst her friends after Carolina passed away and the suggestion was made that it would really be nice to have an asteroid named after her.
“I remembered that I have a good friend who actually finds asteroids, and I asked him if there were asteroids that we could name, and he sent a list of potential asteroids.”
The asteroid chosen by Ödman-Govender’s husband, Kevin, has a very special significance. Kolenberg explained : “From the list, Kevin chose an asteroid that was discovered in the month that he and Carolina met.”
Kevin, from Marina da Gama in Cape Town, said: “Our love story began in October 2006 when our work in astronomy brought us together. A story that gave rise to two amazing humans - our kids - in whom Carolina lives on. It was appropriate that this asteroid, discovered in that same month, now bears her name, celebrating forever her legacy among the stars”.
Ödman-Govender was a UWC associate professor and associate director of development and outreach at the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy.
She had been the recipient of numerous national and international awards, the most recent being the 2020/2021 NSTF (National Science and Technology Forum) Communication & Outreach Award.