'Rok' solid recognition for Slovenian space scientist

As a child growing up in Slovenia in 1999, Dr Rok Nežič couldn't have known that an asteroid that was discovered in New Mexico that year would be named after him almost three decades later. The Orchard County may be best known for its apples, but for Nežič the real attraction was astronomy.He first arrived to Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) in 2015 to complete his doctorate in space and climate physics, and has remained there ever since.More than a decade on, he is one of two AOP employees to have recently been chosen to have a celestial body named after them.Nežič, who works at the planetarium as a tours and outreach officer, said he thought it was "so cool" when he learned that asteroids can be named after people.Speaking to BBC News NI, Nežič said he wished he "could get there some day" and, now that he has, he described it as "a dream come true". "I'm not sure how to believe it myself,” he admitted.He explains that an asteroid is "a smallish rock in space" compared to planets, and that his one is named (20560) Nežič., external"That's its official name, so the number there tells you basically the order of discovery."It is currently "sitting safely out in the asteroid belt and just going around the Sun, just like we are", he explained.