Named in honour of Joseph Veverka, planetary astronomer at Cornell University. One of the first to study the polarimetric and photometric properties of asteroids, Veverka has made substantial contributions to our knowledge of other small objects in the solar system, notably in his detailed work on Phobos and Deimos. He has also studied the morphology and motions of wind streaks on the Martian surface and has been a strong advocate of space missions to comets.

Dr. Veverka was born in Pelhřimov, Czechoslovakia in what is now the Czech Republic. In 1948 his family fled the communist regime, going first to France and then to Canada in 1951. He grew up in Cochrane, Ontario. Dr. Veverka received his B.S. in Physics from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

Dr. Veverka delivered the 1990 Helen Sawyer Hogg Public Lecture at the RASC General Assembly in Ottawa, "Exploring Our Solar System: The Voyager Adventure"

(https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1990JRASC..84..334V)

Orbit type: Main Belt Asteroid

Reference: MPC 7159