French astronomer Alain Maury discovered this asteroid on September 21, 1998.
On June 13, the International Astronomical Union baptized a asteroid Besely, a village located in the Manja district, Menabe region. It’s the first asteroid to bear a Malagasy name. L’asteroid is located between the planets Mars and Jupiter. It measures five kilometers in diameter and circles the sun for five and a half years.
Andoniaina Rajaonarivelo, president of the Malagasy Association for Astronomy Haikitana, explained that this appointment is a source of great pride for Madagascar. According to him, the process for appointing asteroids is not only very long, but must also meet many criteria. “Of a million asteroids, only 20,000 are named. The existence of an asteroid with a Malagasy name is in this case an opportunity that opens up for the country, the scientific community as well as the world of Malagasy astronomy.“, she added.
Furthermore, this situation might have an impact on the tourism sector in Madagascar. Andoniaina Rajaonarivelo indicated that the world scientific and astronomical community will be more interested in this Malagasy village. “This might open the horizon to astrotourism which has already been initiated elsewhere and whose benefits are being felt“, she clarified.
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