The asteroid "Sarbievius" is named after Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievius (1595-1640), a professor at Vilnius University (VU) and a poet of the Baroque period. The asteroid was discovered by Dr Kazimieras Černis, a researcher at the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, at the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory.
Motiejus Konstantinas Sarbievijus (unknown artist, 17 c., National Museum of Cracow)
"M. K. Sarbievijus was a professor at Vilnius University from 1627.He graduated from Vilnius University, became a professor there, and matured as a poet and writer in Vilnius. Many called him the 'Horace of the Sarmatians' - we have very few such world-famous personalities," says the scientist of the motivation for naming an asteroid after the poet.
This year marks the poet's 430th anniversary, and 2025 has been officially proclaimed the Year of M. K. Sarbievius and Baroque Literature in Lithuania. Dr Eleonora Terleckienė, assistant at the Faculty of Philology at Vilnius University, describes him as one of the brightest men of his time.
"Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus is a Jesuit, professor, theoretician of rhetoric, and perhaps the most famous poet of the Lithuanian Baroque period who wrote in Latin. His work is closely linked to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, especially Vilnius and Kražiai, which landscapes poet captured in his work. The poems of M.K. Sarbievius impressed Pope Urban VIII himself, and his poetry collection "Lyricorum libris tres" (1625) made his name known throughout Europe", says the researcher.
Asteroid Sarbievius is currently orbiting in the constellation Delphinus as a 22.2 magnitude object - completely invisible to the naked eye.
NASA's JPL database shows that the asteroid is, on average, 3.18 times farther from the Sun than Earth, and orbits the Sun in 5 years and 242 days.
On 17 March this year, the International Astronomical Union announced that the asteroid with the catalogue number 2007 GD52 (450737) has been named Sarbievius. The asteroid was discovered on April 14th, 2014 at the VU Molėtai Astronomical Observatory. A scientific paper confirming the discovery was published in the journal Baltic Astronomy in 2016. The asteroid was confirmed by US astronomers from Mt. Bigelow Observatory in Arizona, and the asteroid received a designation on 16 April. The orbit had been finally determined in 2019.
Elements of this asteroid's orbit: a = 3,18 av, e = 0,21 i = 23,92°, P = 2067 d.