Asteroid (709844) Komoniecki Honors Polish Chronicler Andrzej Komoniecki

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has officially named the main‑belt asteroid (709844) Komoniecki after Andrzej Komoniecki, a 17th‑18th‑century chronicler from Żywiec, Poland. Komoniecki served as wójt and mayor of Żywiec and authored the chronicle “Chronografia albo Dziejopis Żywiecki,” a key source for the town’s early history.

The naming was announced in the Working Group Small Bodies Nomenclature bulletin on 27 July. The asteroid, discovered on 3 April 2013 by Polish astronomers Michał Kusiak and Michał Żołnowski, orbits the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter with a period of about 1 900 days (5.2 years). The decision follows an earlier Polish‑related naming, asteroid (551231) Żywiec, designated in 2021.

The IAU is the sole authority that confers official names on celestial bodies, and the new name adds to the modest number of objects bearing Polish heritage.