Go-Lev-Ka: an asteroid named by radar

In 1995, three radar observatories on three continents studied one small asteroid — and gave it a name.

Published 2026-10-23

Most asteroids are named after people, places or myths. Golevka is named after observatories.^[2]

A three-continent campaign

In 1995, Golevka was studied simultaneously by radar from:

• Goldstone, California — a NASA Deep Space Network station operated by JPL in the Mojave Desert.^[5]
• The RT-70 radio telescope at Yevpatoria (also romanized Evpatoria), Ukraine.^[2]
• Kashima, Japan.^[2]

Building the name

Take the first letters: Go + Ev + Ka. The name was proposed by the discoverer, Eleanor Helin, following a suggestion by Alexander L. Zaitsev.^[2]

What radar showed

The observations revealed a very strange, angular shape — about 0.6 × 1.4 km — that looks different depending on direction.^[2]

Why radar?

Optical telescopes see asteroids as points of light. Radar bounces signals off them and measures the echo’s timing and frequency, giving both a shape and a highly precise distance — precise enough, as Golevka later showed, to catch the Yarkovsky drift.^[2][3]

Numbered citations link to the sources list on the Golevka overview page.