June 15, 2006 == MEDIA ADVISORY
Asteroids discovered by students and professors at Calvin College now bear the
names of two beloved Calvin retirees: former Calvin president Dr. William
Spoelhof and former Calvin dean and physics department chair Roger Griffioen.
Each asteroid is approximately the size of Calvin's entire Knollcrest campus!
Asteroid Spoelhof (previously known as 2004 XU3) was discovered December 3,
2004 by Calvin professor of physics and astronomy Larry Molnar. Asteroid
Griffioen (previously known as 2003 RA11) was discovered on September 5, 2003
by Calvin student Andrew Vanden Heuvel.
Molnar notes that when a new asteroid is discovered it is given a provisional
name, but that it must be tracked for a number of years to fully establish its
orbit before the discoverer is given the privilege of naming it.
Vanden Heuvel and Molnar, together with the Physics and Astronomy department
at Calvin, chose Griffioen (GRIFF HEWN) and Spoelhof (SPOOL HOFF) to
commemorate the establishment of the Calvin College observatory in 1970. This
week they learned the suggested names had been approved.
Spoelhof served as president of Calvin from 1951 to 1976 and among his many
achievements was the establishment of Calvin's astronomy program, including the
construction of an observatory in 1970. Griffioen served Calvin for 37 years,
including seven as an academic dean and 17 as physics chair.
The Calvin astronomy program continues to grow.
In 2003, new, computer-controlled telescopes were purchased with National
Science Foundation grant money: one replacing the 1970 instrument in the dome
on campus, and a second one placed at a dark-sky site in Rehoboth, able to be
operated over the internet by Calvin students.
Contact Molnar at lmolnar@calvin.edu or 616-526-6341
For the complete story, including links to animations and pics, see
www.calvin.edu/news
-end-
Received on Thu Jun 15 11:47:40 2006
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