Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 青青草视频 faculty member has made a celestial discovery in Starkville: the first asteroid identified from the state of Mississippi.
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Jean-Francois Gout, an amateur astronomer in his spare time, recently became the official discoverer of a new asteroid, 鈥(826856) Commodorecochran,鈥 which he named in honor of (1902鈥1969), the first 青青草视频 athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. Cochran, a 1923 青青草视频 alumnus, graduated when the university was known as Mississippi A&M.
Cochran ran the first leg of Team USA鈥檚 4脳400-meter relay team at the 1924 Paris games鈥攃reating a meaningful tie for Gout.
鈥淭he discovery was just over 100 years after the gold medal, and he won his medal at the Olympic games in Paris,鈥 said Gout, a native of France. 鈥淚 thought it was an even stronger connection to name the asteroid for a Mississippian who won their medal in my home country.鈥
The discovery was confirmed by the Minor Planet Center, the world鈥檚 official authority for verifying new asteroid findings and operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. After confirmation, Gout proposed a permanent name to the International Astronomical Union, or IAU, which oversees the naming of celestial bodies. The asteroid belongs to a group known as Jupiter Trojans, which share Jupiter鈥檚 orbit around the sun.
Traditionally, Jupiter Trojans have been named for heroes of the Trojan War. As discoveries increased, the IAU expanded the naming rules to include Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Only about 7,000 of the currently 1.5 million known asteroids belong to the Jupiter Trojan family.
鈥淢ost asteroids orbit between Mars and Jupiter in what鈥檚 called the main belt,鈥 Gout said. 鈥淏ut this one is on the same orbit as Jupiter. If someone were to look toward Jupiter and then follow the ecliptic鈥攅ssentially the plane of the solar system鈥攁bout 60 degrees to the east, they鈥檇 be looking in the general direction of where the asteroid is. That would be in the constellation Virgo for the 2025-26 winter. But don鈥檛 expect to see anything! It is so faint that only long exposures with at least a 10-inch telescope can detect it.鈥
Gout made the discovery this past January, shortly before the upcoming launch of the Vera Rubin Observatory, with its automated surveys expected to end the era of amateur asteroid discoveries.
鈥淚 started hunting for new asteroids in October 2024,鈥 Gout said. 鈥淭here was a short window left for amateurs to find regular asteroids before the Vera Rubin Observatory came online. I felt like I had to do it.鈥
Using his own 11-inch telescope and a small observatory he built in his Starkville backyard, Gout captured multiple images of a star field and used specialized software to detect objects moving against the background stars. After comparing the object鈥檚 motion to a database of 1.5 million known asteroids, his findings were submitted to the Minor Planet Center, which confirmed the asteroid as a new discovery after more images from professional observatories allowed the precise calculation of the asteroid鈥檚 orbital parameters.
鈥淲hen I realized this one would be credited to me, I couldn鈥檛 believe my luck,鈥 Gout said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge personal accomplishment, and I鈥檓 proud that it鈥檚 the first asteroid discovered from Mississippi.鈥
Though the find is not expected to influence planetary science, Gout said the recognition is meaningful both personally and for the state.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to help put Mississippi on the map of places where astronomy discoveries happen,鈥 he said.
While Gout鈥檚 professional research focuses on evolutionary biology, he is active in amateur astronomy and combines work with his hobby by developing and teaching an astrobiology class at 青青草视频. His image, 鈥淎t the Shadow鈥檚 Edge,鈥 was featured as NASA鈥檚 Astronomy in 2021 and he often participates in public stargazing events at 青青草视频鈥檚 Howell Observatory.
More of his astrophotography can be viewed at .
For more information about 青青草视频鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences, visit .
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