HMNS Beyond Bones Podcast · Houston Museum of Natural Science

Ever Wondered How Asteroids Get Their Names?

·48 min·3 clips

After 10 to 15 correct observations, the asteroid team gets the chance to name the asteroid and surprised Tracy with her own name.

Tracy Canass has an asteroid now. Johnny Hemberger opens with that simple, happy fact, then brings the listener into the George Observatory dome to ask how it happened. The trail starts with Comet Tempel 1. Tracy says the George Observatory gathered information with the University of Maryland, which helped refine the comet's orbit for a NASA mission. From there, the episode gets nicely hands-on. Johnny keeps tugging the story back to things visitors can picture: the 36-inch telescope, the dome, and the path with planet markers. Pluto is way out there. Near the asteroid-belt marker, Tracy says one asteroid was named for Brazos Bend State Park because the park hosts the observatory. The George has done a lot of asteroid hunting. Tracy adds that the Fort Bend Astronomy Club was heavily involved in that work, though onboard electronics mean they do less of it now. Then the sky becomes the problem. Johnny turns to people spreading out from Houston and brightening places that used to be darker. Brazos Bend is still darker than town, but the episode treats darkness as something people can lose, or protect, through development and lighting. The host wanders into the country fantasy and jokes about acreage, barns, and room for kids, while subdivisions and large houses keep pressing closer. That loose stretch works. The science stays grounded in ordinary worries about growth, lighting, and keeping a public observatory useful near a growing city. The ending stays museum-floor practical: Tracy and Johnny talk about the observatory being booked a month and a half out, the dome light cutting off at just the right moment, and HMNS sending listeners back toward its locations and curiosity.

As heard by us

A conversational astronomy episode that connects an asteroid naming story with dark-sky realities.

HMNS Beyond Bones follows Johnny Hemberger as he talks with astronomer Tracy Canass about the asteroid named for her, the George Observatory at Brazos Bend State Park, and the 36-inch telescope there.

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Why you'd press play

You want the story behind a real asteroid name.

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