[meteorite-list] 2004 MN4 - 99942 Apophis

[Dawn & Gerald Flaherty]

Yipee for thwarting!!! Even though I'll most likely be "away" but that date.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matson, Robert" <ROBERT.D.MATSON at saic.com>
To: "'Jeff Grossman'" <jgrossman at usgs.gov>;
<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 2:56 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] 2004 MN4 - 99942 Apophis


> Hi Jeff and List,
>
> I thought the name was perfect!  Here's a detailed explanation by
> Dave Tholen (one of the finders) from the Minor Planet Mailing List:
>
> "It's traditional to name Aten-class asteroids after Egyptian gods.
> One problem is that [2004] MN4 will become an Apollo-class asteroid
> after the 2029 close approach, and Apollo-class asteroids have
> traditionally been named after Greek gods. So we went with the
> Greek name for an Egyptian god. As we understand it, Apophis is
> the Greek name for the Egyptian god Apep, the god of evil and
> destruction. Apep was usually thwarted in his destructive efforts,
> however."
>
> --Rob
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