Asteroid 274301 Renamed to Wikipedia

On 27/01/2013, the International Astronomical Union officially approved the renaming of asteroid 274301 to “Wikipedia,” recognizing the global impact of the free online encyclopedia. The naming decision was published through the Minor Planet Circular by the Committee for Small Body Nomenclature, the international body responsible for naming asteroids and other minor planets. The asteroid was originally discovered on 25/08/2008 at the Andrushivka Astronomical Observatory in northern Ukraine. At the time of discovery, it received the provisional designation 2008 QH24 before later being assigned the permanent numerical identifier 274301. Astronomical observations placed the object within the inner region of the main asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. According to published orbital data, asteroid Wikipedia measures approximately 1 kilometer, or about 0.62 miles, in diameter. The object orbits the Sun once every 3.68 Earth years. Like many asteroids in the main belt, it follows a stable orbital path between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The proposal to rename the asteroid after Wikipedia originated from members of the Ukrainian Wikimedia community. Andriy Makukha, a board member of Wikimedia Ukraine, suggested the idea, and the formal nomination was submitted to the International Astronomical Union by Yuri Ivashchenko, owner of the Andrushivka Astronomical Observatory. The naming proposal was subsequently accepted by the Committee for Small Body Nomenclature and officially recorded in the Minor Planet Circular issued on 27 January 2013. The recognition connected one of the world’s largest collaborative knowledge projects with astronomical naming traditions often used to honor scientists, cultural figures, institutions, and public contributions to humanity. By 2013, Wikipedia had already become one of the most visited websites globally and operated in hundreds of languages through volunteer-driven editing communities. Why This Moment Matters : The naming of asteroid 274301 Wikipedia reflected Wikipedia’s growing cultural and educational recognition beyond the internet itself. It also demonstrated how collaborative digital projects had become influential enough to receive formal acknowledgment within international scientific naming systems.