8991 Solidarity is an asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

 previously designated . It was discovered on August 6, 1980 from the European Southern Observatory

European Southern Observatory

The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...

 in Cerro La Silla, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

.

The asteroid was named in response to the September 11 attacks. As a commemorative gesture, the IAU

IAU

IAU may refer to:*International Astronomical Union*International American University*International American University College of Medicine*International Association of Universities*International Association of Ultrarunners...

's Committee for the Nomenclature of Small Bodies chose three objects discovered in observatories

Observatory

An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...

 on different continents and christened them with names representing some of the most basic and universal human values. The other two selections were 8990 Compassion

8990 Compassion

8990 Compassion is an asteroid, originally designated 1980 DN, discovered on 19 February 1980 at the Kleť Observatory in the Czech Republic.The asteroid was named in response to the September 11 attacks...

 (discovered from Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

) and 8992 Magnanimity

8992 Magnanimity

8992 Magnanimity is an asteroid previously designated '. It was discovered on October 14, 1980 from the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanking, China.The asteroid was named in response to the September 11 attacks...

 (discovered from Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

).