'Rok' solid recognition for Slovenian space scientist

Dr Rok Nežič says he can't believe that he's been chosen to have an asteroid named after him As a child growing up in Slovenia in 1999, Dr Rok Nežič couldn't have known that an asteroid that was discovered in New Mexico that year would be named after him almost three decades later. The Orchard County may be best known for its apples, but for Nežič the real attraction was astronomy. He first arrived to Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) in 2015 to complete his doctorate in space and climate physics, and has remained there ever since. More than a decade on, he is one of two AOP employees to have recently been chosen to have a celestial body named after them. Nežič, who works at the planetarium as a tours and outreach officer, said he thought it was "so cool" when he learned that asteroids can be named after people. Speaking to BBC News NI, Nežič said he wished he "could get there some day" and, now that he has, he described it as "a dream come true". "I'm not sure how to believe it myself,” he admitted. He explains that an asteroid is "a smallish rock in space" compared to planets, and that his one is named (20560) Nežič., external "That's its official name, so the number there tells you basically the order of discovery." It is currently "sitting safely out in the asteroid belt and just going around the Sun, just like we are", he explained. People can visit the planetarium to learn about space The naming process for small bodies in the solar system is governed , external. He doesn't know who chose him for the honour - but his PhD supervisor, and a former astronomer from the observatory nominated him. Nežič focused on comets with polarised light for his studies and years later is "still" talking about space. The planetarium and observatory is "punching well above our weight", he said. "Even though we're a small institution, people who work here can just focus on the research so much that we have really top researchers in the field." Shane Kelly has been taking readings at Armagh Observatory for 27 years