After the goddess of door handles: Earth's quasi-satellite is now called Cardea
The next quasi-satellite in the solar system now has an official name. Cardea is a companion of the Earth and was discovered more than 20 years ago.
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One of the first asteroids identified as a quasisatellite of Earth has been given a name and is now officially called Cardea. The celestial body is thus named after the Roman goddess of doorknobs, door hinges and thresholds. The name was selected in a competition from almost 3,000 submissions from more than 90 countries, with seven finalists being put to the vote in December. This has now been announced by those responsible for the competition. Over 10,000 votes were cast for "Cardea". The official naming ceremony was held a few days ago by the working group of the International Astronomical Union WGSBN responsible for naming small celestial bodies.
Zoozve as a pioneer
Quasi-satellites or quasimoons are a special type of companion to celestial bodies that orbit them at relatively large distances and are mainly under the gravitational influence of the celestial body that they orbit together – in the solar system, i.e. usually the sun. Although they have been theorized for some time, only comparatively few of these objects are known to date. They are also named because from the surface of one celestial body it can look as if it is a satellite or moon. An asteroid orbiting Venus was identified as the very first quasisatellite and was christened Zoozve after a misunderstanding.
Cardea was discovered in 2004 and was previously only called 2004 GU9. The proposal was submitted on the grounds that Cardea symbolized transition in ancient Rome. Just as she watched over border states at the doors, the quasisatellite lives in the space between the earth and the cosmos. It is therefore a "celestial gatekeeper of the in-between". The other finalists were Bakunawa (after a mythical dragon from the Philippines), Ehaema (after an Estonian legend), Enkidu (after a Sumerian epic), Ă“tr (after a shape-shifting dwarf from Norwegian mythology), Tarriaksuk (after Inuit legends) and Tecciztecatl (after the Aztec moon god).
(mho)