Minor planet body 229762, previous provisional designation 2007 UK126, received a name last week: G kún ʼhòmdímà. Her name comes from the Jul’hoan people of Namibia.
While the name is difficult to type (cut and paste is handy) and equally difficult to pronounce, from her evocative mythology and her size, we must conclude that she stands as a force with which we must all reckon.
With a diameter of 612 km by current estimates, she hovers in the possible dwarf planet category. While there are differing views of how big a body must be to receive dwarf planet designation, the absolutes consist of Ceres (950 km), Orcus (983 km), Sedna (1,041 km), Quaoar (1,092 km), Haumea (1,252 km), Makemake (1,426 km), Pluto (2,329 km) Eris (2,330 km), and the soon to be named object, 225088 lies well in the fray (1,290 km). Note: all diameter data taken from a Mike Brown (the astronomer who discovered Eris and many more KBOs) online post and may be subject to some variation.
Mike brown and others consider smaller Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO) to be dwarf planets as well. Brown categorizes Salacia (921 km) and 307261 (960 km) as “near certainty” dwarf planets. Further, he indicates Chaos (612 km), Ixion (617 km), Varda (689 km), and Varuna (698 km) fall into the category of “highly likely” to be considered dwarf planets, and there are several yet unnamed KBOs in this classification. Consider that Vesta has been described as a “proto” planet and her diameter seems diminutive at 573 km.
With her strong mythology it stands unlikely that G kún ʼhòmdímà gets lost in the fray because of size. Her orbit around the Sun takes longer than Eris - a leisurely 620.17 years. Her inclination is reasonably high at 23.4 degrees and her eccentricity is midrange, 0.4843, but much higher than those of classical planets. Her rotational period (day) runs 11.05 hours. Additionally, she holds a satellite in her gravitational grasp, orbiting once every 3.7 days. This “moon,” G!ò'é !Hú, distinguishes herself by appearing as one of the reddest Kuiper Belt Objects.
According to the lore of the Jul’hoan people “G!kún \| 'hòmd{í}mà is the beautiful aardvark girl who sometimes appears in stories as a python and sometimes as an elephant. She defends her people and punishes wrongdoers using g \| ám{í}g \| àmì spines (a spiny plant known as Devil’s thorn), a rain cloud full of hail, and her magical oryx (large antelope) horn.” Definitely a force to behold.
Her north node corresponds 11 Leo 06 (heliocentric) and her perihelion occurs at 27 Cancer 58 (heliocentric). As of today’s post, she transits 11 Gemini 46.
From the combination of orbital elements and the notations of her lore, it is possible to conjure initial keywords. Some of these are obvious, given creatures mentioned and actions taken by this Namibian goddess:
Positive: formidable, cleansing, nurturing, confidence-inspiring
Negative: vindictive, retaliatory, self-absorbed, meddlesome, insecure, smothering
Mundane: aardvarks, pythons, elephants, antelope, Devil’s thorn, spines and thorns used as weapons, hailstorms, antelope horns
Ceremonial: truth ceremonies, cleansing rituals, shape-shifting, totem meditation
While it is far too early to establish a comprehensive delineation profile for G kún ʼhòmdímà, with the above considerations and applying her to horoscopes of individuals and mundane events, clarity will slowly result. Having seen this sort of naming before, and given that objects with orbital periods longer than that of Pluto supposedly receive resurrection or creation names, I would love to have been a fly on the wall during the astronomical naming process. Realizing that astronomers are keen on subtext, perhaps G kún ʼhòmdímà summons healing for personal and global woes.
Next up this month will be the submission of the proposed name for KBO 225088, as determined by crowd sourcing. This name will most likely be accepted. Within whatever name is chosen, it shall state and define an indication of the collective unconscious. Stand by!
It’s a busy month ahead, not only am I in final preparations for Norwac, which is sold out - waiting list only - book a consultation with me for Norwac soon if you’re attending. I am serving as juror for the Prescott Film Festival and now have a slew of films to judge. That means, let’s get you booked in for a consultation sooner than later. Order up one of those Galactic Reports, and if you’re thinking about the Galactic Trilogy collection, I’ll soon be receiving data for G kún ʼhòmdímà and will be running calcs promptly. I will advise when those updates are added.
More soon!
The short film I penned, Otro Lado, screens at the Carmarthen Film Festival on Thursday, 30 May at 13:05. For those of you in Wales or nearby, please visit: Carmarthen Bay Film Festival (https://carmarthenbayfilmfestival.org/)