Skookum Jim, whose discovery caused a gold rush on Klondike, acquired the asteroid of the same name

Last week, at the recommendation of the Yukon Astronomical Society, an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter was named after him.

“I think that’s pretty cool,” said Zina McClain, the eldest niece of Skookum Jim Mason who didn’t know the name her ancestor had been introduced to.

“Whatever keeps the Skookum Jim Mason name in Yukon’s public history is important to his nephews, nephews and the rest of his family.”

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Skookum Jim Mason is a Tagish of the Duck La Wede clan. The trust he created in his will still exists today, according to the Whitehorse Friendship Center that bears his name. The interest generated from these funds is used to recognize indigenous peoples who have helped their communities.

Maria Benoit, Ha Cha Do Hin, or President of Carcross/Tagish First Nation and former CEO of Skookum Jim Friendship Center, were thrilled to hear the news. His great-grandfather was Skookum’s nephew, Jim Mason.

“Coming from the first country,” he said, “this is history being made.”

Skookum asteroid Jim

Skookum Jim is a large asteroid in the belt. It orbits with other asteroids between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Christa van Larhoeven, President Yukon Astronomical Society. “The orbit is not perfectly circular. This is not what we call eccentric. It’s not very non-circular, but just a little. It’s tilted relative to Earth’s orbit by about 15 degrees.”

As far as van Larhoeven is known, it is the second asteroid whose name is associated with the Yukon.

“The only other asteroid I could find with a Yukon connection is Klondike,” he said, adding that the name was taken from two brothers who came to the Klondike gold rush, made a fortune and donated money to a university in Finland that built a library. .

Van Larhoeven said with surprise about fate that it was the university where the asteroid Skookum Jim was first discovered.

However, if you’re hoping to see the asteroid Skookum Jim, van Larhoeven says you’ll need a telescope.

“Something a little big,” he said, “is big enough that it’s not easy to take it out in your backyard.”

McLean hopes that science will one day be able to determine the components of asteroids.

“Wouldn’t it be cool if it was filled with gold?” He laughed.

naming process

The naming begins with an email from the Royal Canadian Astronomical Society to the Yukon Astronomical Society saying that they have the opportunity to submit several names to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which is responsible for naming objects in outer space.

The way the email was phrased, said van Larhoeven, was as if the IAU wanted to honor someone who had served the community well.

“We really felt that if we were going to honor the Yukoner, we wanted to honor Skookum Jim,” he said.

“We really feel that his presence in Yukon history is big enough that if we were to get our hands on an asteroid called Yukoner, it would be him.”