Giant asteroid named after Filipino doctor, amateur astronomer
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) recently announced that the Paris’ International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially named an eight-kilometer-wide asteroid “7431 Jettaguilar”, in honor of Dr. Jose Francisco “Jett” Aguilar, a neurosurgeon at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, and Cardinal Santos Medical Center.
DOST said in a statement that Aguilar has been providing neurosurgical services to Filipino children for more than 20 years. He is is known in the medical field for successfully removing a parasitic twin from a three-week-old infant in 2019.
"He is also the clinical director of the Philippine Movement Disorder Surgery Center, which pioneered 'Deep Brain Stimulation' surgery for Filipino patients afflicted with a rare genetic movement disorder called 'X-Linked Dystonia Parkinsonism,'" the department said.
According to the agency, Aguilar has been an ardent astrophotographer for more than 15 years, and his photos of the Sun, the transit of Venus, lunar eclipses and other celestial events have been published in Spaceweather.com and Skyandtelescope.org.
"He is also an avid eclipse chaser, and he has traveled overseas with members of the ALP to observe and photograph total and annular solar eclipses in China, Indonesia, the U.S., and Singapore," the DOST said.
"The IAU’s 15-member Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN) is the sole scientific organization with the authority and responsibility of assigning names to small solar system bodies such as asteroids, comets and the satellites of minor planets," the DOST explained.
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