You know you've made it in this crazy, mixed-up world of ours whenastronomersname something after you. On April 8, 1991, scientists at theEuropean Southern Observatory(ESO) spotted a previously unknown asteroid in orbit betweenMarsandJupiter. Since the thing needed a name, they called it9954 Brachiosaurus.
A long-armed, long-necked plant-eating dinosaur,Brachiosaurusresided in North America during the Late Jurassic Period, about 155 to 150 million years ago.
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Today the animal lives on in our popular culture. Except its fame comes with an asterisk.
Brachiosaurushad a memorable appearance in the first "Jurassic Park" movie and itmade audiences cryin 2018's "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom." Yet these portrayals of the giant reptile were largely based on a different dinosaur:Giraffatitan brancai.
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