.png)
The Asteroid Belt Just Got Weirder, Thanks in Part to Asteroid Allison
From “White & Nerdy” to the asteroid belt, this is a cosmic crossover we can get behind.
Some fans bring friendship bracelets, Dr. Allison McGraw showed up with an asteroid.
On September 20, our very own Senior Science Director joined astrophysicist Dr. Steven Desch backstage at Tucson Convention Center to present “Weird Al” Yankovic with a certificate celebrating his newly named asteroid, (14331) Alyankovic. After months of helping get the nomination through, Allison got to meet the artist whose work had meant so much to her and her fellow scientists.
Honestly, this is the flex of the century.
The name became official on September 7, 2026, through the International Astronomical Union’s asteroid naming process. Somewhere between Mars and Jupiter, a space rock now carries the name of the man who gave us “Eat It,” “Amish Paradise,” and a very specific appreciation for accordions.
Allison also gave Al a meteorite that is related to his asteroid’s mineral and compositional type, offering him a small, tangible connection to the science behind the honor.
“This is perhaps the greatest honor I’ve ever received,” Yankovic said.
How Weird Al Landed in the Asteroid Belt
So, how does the man behind “Amish Paradise” end up with an asteroid named after him?
In planetary science, asteroid names are often used to honor researchers, educators, explorers, and individuals who have made lasting contributions to society.These honors can recognize people, living or dead, who have “done something for either the science community or just the public in general.”
In Al’s case, his parody songs introduce people to science, along with the science-themed videos he’s shared on YouTube.
Conversations about asteroid names led Desch, a professor at Arizona State University, to suggest two musicians: Weird Al and Tom Lehrer. For a group of researchers who appreciated the connection between science and musical comedy, the idea was an easy sell.
Allison helped turn it into a nomination, working with Desch, the Smithsonian’s Tim McCoy, and SPACEWATCH's Melissa Brucker. The effort brought together people who spend their careers studying small worlds and who wanted to recognize someone who had made their own world a little more fun.
The team also successfully nominated Tom Lehrer, the musical satirist behind “The Elements” and one of Al’s influences. Speaking about Lehrer, Allison told the Arizona Daily Star, “We felt that someone who had that kind of science enthusiasm really deserved to have their name up in the sky.”
It’s All About the Nerds
If your introduction to Al involved memorizing “White & Nerdy” or watching “It’s All About the Pentiums,” you probably get it. His songs made computers, collecting things, and knowing way too much about your favorite subject part of the joke you were invited into. There was room to laugh at yourself and still love what you loved.
And this we can relate to.
For Allison, that connection started when she was a self-described “nerdy kid.” She mentioned that “White & Nerdy” spoke to her growing up.
“Nobody thought I was cool until my dad let me dye my hair red.”
Now she’s helping name asteroids after one of her favorite musicians. We’d say things worked out.
That affection runs deep in the science community.
“Humor and intelligence are not opposites. Weird Al showed generations of students and scientists that they belong together.”
She also has a soft spot for his mock educational film Our Friend Dirt. Given her line of work, her proposed follow-up makes perfect sense: Our Friend Asteroid Dirt.
And we would watch that.
“Scientists spend their lives asking questions about how things work. Weird Al has spent decades encouraging people to do exactly the same thing.”
Meet Asteroid Allison
For Allison, the connection goes well beyond being a fan. She’s a planetary scientist and postdoctoral researcher at the Lunar and Planetary Institute who studies asteroids and meteorites, linking the rocks we find on Earth to the bodies they came from in space.
And there’s another reason this story is special to us: Allison recently had an asteroid named after her, as well!
Earlier this year, she learned that she was being honored with (20092) Allisonmcgraw.
Her own asteroid honor recognizes a career spent pursuing those kinds of questions and helping other people ask them, too. Allison earned her Ph.D. in planetary science at the University of Arizona in 2023. Alongside her research, she has worked in science communication, arts-based outreach, and mentoring girls in STEM.
Bringing people into science is a big part of what she does, including here at Her Cosmic Orbit.
Helping connect a beloved musician to asteroid research feels right at home in that work.
Meet Alyankovic, the Space Rock
Discovered in 1981 at Australia’s Siding Spring Observatory, Alyankovic takes about 3.8 Earth years to travel around the Sun. Its estimated diameter is roughly 1.5 to 2 kilometers, or around a mile across, with more observations needed to refine what we know. Allison hopes to learn more about its size, spin, and composition. And this particular asteroid has a connection to questions she’s already working to answer.
Alyankovic belongs to the Massalia asteroid family, a group in the main asteroid belt linked by a shared collision history. Research has proposed a connection between that family and L chondrites, a common kind of stony meteorite found on Earth. Allison contributed to a 2024 Nature study exploring that connection.
So yes, there is actual asteroid science behind this pop-culture moment. Al’s namesake could become part of the work Allison already does.
Cosmic Sidequest: SPACEWATCH
We love a story where the scientist gets to celebrate one of her favorite musicians and the musician gets excited about what she studies. And we’re especially proud that Allison helped make it happen while earning her own place in the asteroid catalog.
Want to see where the next part of this story could take us? In our first Cosmic Sidequest episode, we head to Kitt Peak and Spacewatch to see how scientists track asteroids. It’s a chance to get closer to the telescopes and the work behind names like Alyankovic and Allisonmcgraw.
Watch our first Cosmic Sidequest and follow Her Cosmic Orbit for updates as we follow Allison’s efforts to track and study these asteroids over the coming year.
→More about Asteroid Allison: lpi.usra.edu
→Socials @asteroid_allison + @mysteriousmeteorites
Comments