Discovered 1902 Apr. 29 by M. F. Wolf at Heidelberg.

Named for the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of John A. Brashear, who figured the lenses of the discoverer’s 16-inch photographic doublet. (H 52)

Named by J. A. Brashear {see planet(5502)}, who stated in Pop. Astron., Vol. 11, No. 10, p. 549 (1903) that the discoverer presents him the honor of naming the planet. “Desiring to share this honor with the good people of this great city, he proposed the name, which has been accepted by Dr. Wolf, and henceforth planet No. 484 will be recorded in astronomical annals with the name of our city as it is engraved upon its great seal, except that the Greek suffix has been attached to the last syllable to make the name more euphonious, as has been the custom in all names permitting this ending. Some time in the far-distant future our great city may lie silent and dead, as Mycenae or Pompeii, but her name, now recorded in the skies, will be remembered as long as the beautiful science of astronomy has its votaries on Old Mother Earth.”

The optics of this famous Bruce {see planet(323)} telescope were later removed and replaced by two four-lens Zeiss objectives. See also the citation for planet(457).