* Astronomy

John and Maire Percy, two distinguished Toronto researchers, have now been immortalised by having two asteroids named in honour of their marriage and their careers:
John Percy is an astronomer at the University of Toronto; and Maire is the director of the Neurogenetics Laboratory at Surrey Place Centre.

The mini-planets Johnpercy and Mairepercy come close to each once every 220 years. This may be a reflection on how rarely their real-life orbits cross, says Maire Percy, also a University of Toronto professor emeritus.

"We tend to be very busy people" - Maire Percy.

Naming rights for asteroids go to whoever spots them first. These two were discovered by amateur astronomers in 2000. They gave the privilege of naming them to the Toronto chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, the amateur astronomers' group John Percy has worked with for much of his career studying variable stars, which change in brightness.
The International Astronomical Union made it official a few hours before their 44th wedding anniversary on Friday.
It is a first. Asteroids have been named for husbands and wives before, like Russian astronomers Grigory Abramovich Shajn and Pelageya Fedorovna Shajn. But co-orbital asteroids have never been named for a married couple. These are similar but not identical space rocks, mini-planets with a relationship.

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