Asteroid named after pope behind Gregorian calendar reform

ROME (AP) — The 16th century pope responsible for what is today known as the Gregorian calendar now has another, celestial claim to fame. A working group of the International Astronomical Union has named an asteroid after Pope Gregory XIII. The “560974 Ugoboncompagni” — Gregory’s birthname was Ugo Boncompagni — along with 72 other named asteroids was announced in the Feb. 27 update of the union’s Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature. In the same update, the group also honored three Jesuits affiliated with the Vatican Observatory by naming asteroids after them, bringing to more than 30 the number of Jesuit-named asteroids.