Minor planet named as 4538 Vishyanand after Indian Chess legend Viswanathan Anand

Minor planet was named after India’s chess legend and first grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand by the Minor Planet Center.
His name was given to the minor planet which was previously identified as planet 4538. Now the planet will be called as 4538 Vishyanand and is located somewhere between the Mars and Jupiter.
Minor planet 4538 Vishyanand was discovered on 10 October 1988 by Japanese astronormer Kenzo Suzuki. Initially, the planet was unnamed for almost 10 years.
With this, Vishwanathan Anand has joined the league of former world chess champions Alexander Alekhine and Anatoly Karpov who also have minor planets named after them.
What is Minor planet?

• A minor planet is a term used to describe an astronomical object that is neither a dominant planet nor a comet and thus includes the dwarf planets that orbit around the Sun.
• The orbital categories of these planets are the asteroids, Kuiper belt objects, trojans, centaurs and other trans-Neptunian objects.

The first minor planet discovered was Ceres in 1801.
Naming of Minor Planets
Traditionally, the practice of naming a minor planet is left to its discoverer. If the discovered minor planet remained unnamed for over 10 years, than International Astronomical Union (IAU) names the planet.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2015