English:
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) which operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (Cambridge, Massachussetts, USA) under the auspices of Division III of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), is responsible for the designation of minor bodies in the solar system: minor planets; comets and natural satellites of the major planets.
In its circulars of last February 23, 2006, the MPC annouced officially the naming of the minor planet
110393 RAMMSTEIN
in honor of the German hard rock-metal band Rammstein.
Jean-Claud Merlin discovered this minor planet (asteroid) on October 11, 2001.
it is a rock about 5 km large, orbiting in the main belt between planet Mars and planet Jupiter at an average distance of 400 million km from the Sun. It takes 4 years and a half to complete a revolution around the Sun and never approach less than 220 million km from the Earth.
The observations Jean-Claude merlin remade in August 2005 and further observations made by professional stations around the world in the following months let the Minor Planet Center to give a permanent number to this planet :
it received the number 110393.
Jean Claude Merlin is very happy with his discover.
As a discoverer, I have the privilege to propose a name for the minor planets I find. Beeing personally a fan of the hard rock-metal group Rammstein (I was at the Bercy show on February 11, 2005), I subsequently proposed the name of Rammstein for this planet.
The name has been immediately accepted by the Committee on Small Body Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union.
Other bands and contemporary musicians had already been honored by a planet : the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana ...
This is visible at the following URL :
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/special/roc...ockAndRoll.html
Further informations on my observatory are available on my personal web site :
http://station504.monsite.wanadoo.fr/index.jhtml
Here is the official citation published with the naming of planet 110393 Rammstein :
(110393) Rammstein = 2001 TC8
Discovered 2001 Oct. 11 by J.-C. Merlin at Le Creusot.
The German hard rock-metal group Rammstein was established
in the former East Germany in 1994. It took its name from the
city of Ramstein after the tragic 1988 air show disaster.
The group gives spectacular live shows all over the world.
Here are two little animations of the object. They are in negative form (the stars are black, the sky is white). It shows us the movement of the asteroid during one hour. The other objects of the shots are stars.
The animation
Same thing, but with a circle around the asteroid
An official link, for the skeptical : Names of the asteroids