The group of asteroids bearing names associated with Poland has expanded to include an object named in honour of Dr Anna Łosiak, a planetary geologist and researcher at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Asteroid (20160) Annalosiak, previously designated 1996 TH42, was discovered on 8 October 1996 at the La Silla Observatory in Chile by Belgian astronomer Eric Walter Elst. It belongs to the main asteroid belt, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Dr Anna Łosiak is an assistant professor at the ING PAN Research Centre in Wrocław. Her research interests include the surfaces of planetary bodies and impact craters. She studies the processes involved in the formation of meteorite impact craters on Earth and other bodies in the Solar System.
In July 2026, asteroids were also named in honour of four other Polish researchers involved in the study of small Solar System bodies:
Emil Wilawer, a specialist in the physical properties of asteroids and the analysis of variations in their brightness, after whom asteroid (20322) Emilwilawer was named;
Dr Karolina Dziadura, whose research includes the Yarkovsky effect as well as asteroid density, size, rotation and shape, honoured with asteroid (20446) Karolinadziadura;
Dr Krzysztof Langner, who studies asteroid dynamics and the Didymos–Dimorphos system investigated by the DART and Hera missions, after whom asteroid (20459) Krzysztoflangner was named;
and Monika Kamińska, an astronomer affiliated with Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań who conducts asteroid observations, commemorated by asteroid (20551) Monikakamińska. (astro.amu.edu.pl)
Among the researchers affiliated with Polish institutions, Dr Milagros Colazo, who comes from Argentina and works at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, was also honoured. Asteroid (20280) Colazo bears her surname. (polskieradio.pl)
Naming an asteroid after Dr Anna Łosiak is a remarkable distinction and a recognition of her achievements and contribution to the development of planetary geology.
We warmly congratulate Dr Anna Łosiak and all the researchers who have received this distinction!
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