Asteroid Diannacowern - formerly known as 1999 VG114
Added 2025-03-19 17:05:44 +0000 UTCHey everyone!
The International Astronomical Union has officially announced that they named an astroid in Dianna’s honor!
Asteroid 21943 Diannacowern
It’s a 9km wide asteroid in the inner main belt. It belongs to the Klio family, a group of objects that have remained largely unchanged since the early days of the solar system.
She is one of four science communicators they believed deserved this special recognition. They emailed us to say they know she’s faced many challenges over the past few years, and they deeply admire her resilience. Their wishing her strength, healing, and a full recovery.
They said in the email they hope this cosmic tribute brings us joy, but I was already in tears! I hope this brightens your day as well.
And on a quick health note - I saw Dianna a few days ago. Her memory is a little foggy and she was still recovering from a crash from earlier this month, but she’s smiling more, laughing more, and eating more. We even played a little game for a few rounds.
Thank you everyone!
Comments
Here it is: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Diannacowern_2021.gif
Daniel Bamberger
2025-06-23 02:15:19 +0000 UTCI'm so proud of you both - and all of your supporting team, friends, family, donors, everyone!!!
Jonathan
2025-06-09 21:58:37 +0000 UTCGreat that Dianna has a celestial body now named after her. Wishing for a full recovery soon!
Robert
2025-06-02 02:41:37 +0000 UTCWhat an honor! I'm so glad to learn this. You've always been a celestial being in my eyes, Dianna, but finally the IAU has recognized it too. So well-deserved.
Jean-Philippe Suter
2025-05-27 01:09:42 +0000 UTClove this - so deserving for what you have done (and will do more of when you can) for relating science in a relatable way to the planet. The added bonus, personally, is March 17th is my Birthday. If I could wish for something, for my birthday, besides the obvious - World Peace - for example, I would wish for Dianna to get a Asteroid named after her.
Jay Kean
2025-05-20 18:41:36 +0000 UTCVery Cool to see her get her own Asteroid. Sending Dianna and her Husband all of the Best. Please Take Care.
TheCuriousNoggin
2025-05-16 06:58:17 +0000 UTCI just saw you walking. Wow 😮 well done 👏 That’s an amazing achievement. I’m so happy. Keep up the good work. ❤️
Carol McGarvey
2025-04-26 00:27:03 +0000 UTCI guess you knew you would likely crash. It is a long road to getting better. Best of luck and keep believing in Science and Medical Research.
Robin M Pettit
2025-04-24 23:42:20 +0000 UTC
