An asteroid moving near Jupiter’s orbit has been named after Ukrainian Olympic champion and high-jump world-record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh. The celestial body received the official name (57915) Mahuchikh in August 2025. The Athletics Federation of Ukraine reported this, citing the WGSBN bulletin, UNN writes.
Details
The asteroid was discovered on March 9, 2002, at Mount Bigelow in the U.S. state of Arizona during research conducted as part of the Catalina Sky Survey project. It was initially designated 2002 EB110.
The international astronomical catalog noted the Ukrainian athlete’s main achievements: Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games, bronze at the Tokyo Games, and the high-jump world record of 2.10 meters.
What is known about the Mahuchikh asteroid
The celestial body belongs to the L4 group of Jupiter trojan asteroids. They orbit the Sun near the gas giant’s orbit, approximately 60 degrees ahead of it.
Interestingly, Mahuchikh is not the first Ukrainian athlete whose name has been given to a space object. Earlier, asteroid (212723) Klitschko was named after brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko.
In addition, on October 7, 2026, a symbolic star honoring Yaroslava Mahuchikh was unveiled in Kyiv on the "Walk of Stars."
Reminder
In Kyiv, stars honoring Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Hryhorii Kriss, Serhii Dzinziruk, and Oleksandra Kononova were unveiled . Mahuchikh thanked Ukraine’s defenders.