How did artist Alex Foster accidentally end up naming a quasi-moon of Venus?
Our awesome Solar System print by Alex Foster is packed with fascinating details. But one of the most interesting parts of this artwork is the story behind how the artist managed to inadvertently end up being recognised by the official NASA body that names celestial objects.
That's no moon.
Venus, famously moonless, plays host to a peculiar guest: 524522 Zoozve (formerly known as 2002 VE₆₈). It was discovered on 11th November 2002, by astronomer Brian Skiff at Lowell Observatory.
It's not a moon, but a tiny asteroid (about 236 meters across). It enters a 1:1 orbital resonance with Venus, which means it shares Venus’s orbital period and appears to loop around the planet, even though it actually orbits the Sun. This makes it technically a quasi-satellite, which has danced with Venus for about 7,000 years and will likely drift away in about 500 years.
How "Zoozve" got its name.
When Alex was designing this artwork he carefully researched the astronomical data to include, but in between his handwritten research notes and designing the finished piece managed to mis-read "2002 VE" as Zoozve.
When Latif Nasser, co-host of US podcast Radiolab, noticed "Zoozve" in the print on his child's bedroom wall, he embarked on a cosmic detective tale, calling NASA, consulting astronomers, and eventually tracking it back to Alex Foster and Skiff's discovery.
Latif happened to know somebody at NASA who was able to contact the International Astronomical Union, which is the body that officially designates names to newly discovered astronomical objects. After much debate, on 5th February 2024 Zoozve was formally adopted as the asteroid’s name, embracing this happy accident and celebrating the joy that can be found in studying the details of the stars.
Delightful discoveries.
From a scribble on an artist's notepad, to a child's bedroom wall and ending up on the table of an international organisation, Zoozve's story is a reminder that even serendipitous misreads can lead to delightful discoveries.
So next time you gaze at a starry artwork, pause. You might be looking at a tiny, 236-meter "moon" with a silly name and a cosmic tale worth telling. And somewhere in the universe, little Zoozve, the accidental quasi-moon of Venus, continues its celestial dance.
Happy stargazing and may your next doodle lead to astronomical fame!