Almamater is asteroid #4339 and also known as 1985 UK. Almamater was discovered by the Czech astronomer Antonín Mrkos at Kleť Observatory. Almamater’s orbit is characterized by a semi-major axis of 2.19 Astronomical Units, an eccentricity of 0.18, a period of revolution of 1 187 days, and an inclination of 2.2 degrees.

Almamater is named in anticipation of the 650th anniversary of the Charles University in Prague. This university’s name is Univerzita Karlova in Czech and Universitas Carolina in Latin. It is the oldest university in central Europe. The university’s historical name is Universitas Pragensis or University of Prague. It was established 1347 and rebranded to Charles-Ferdinand University between 1654 and 1920. The university forked in 1920 into a Czech-speaking branch, the Univerzita Karlova, and a German-speaking branch, the German University in Prague. The latter branch ceased to exist in 1945.

Although the naming of the asteroid celebrates an anniversary of the Charles University in Prague, the term alma mater for an university is derived from Alma Mater Studiorum or “nurturing mother of studies”, the motto of the University of Bologna. This university was established in 1088 and the word universitas was coined for this institution. The University of Bologna is the longest continuously operating university in the Western world (while it is doubtful whether those in other parts of the world are universities in this sense). The University of Bologna was the alma mater of Bettisia Gozzadini, a lawyer, who was the first female student and the first female lecturer at an university, and of Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti, who was the first woman achieving a doctorate in science, and the second woman, who earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree. She was a physicist and mathematician. She had the nickname Minerva (after the Roman goddess of wisdom). A 31 km large crater on Venus is named Laura Bassi in her honour. The University of Bologna is still operating.

Before alma mater became a term or rather nickname for universities, it was a title for Virgin Mary, who was called Alma Redemptoris Mater in liturgical use. This already was an adoption from the religion of ancient Rome, where mother goddesses were described as alma or nourishing. This was most common for Cybele or Ceres. Alma Mater literally means nourishing mother.

Many other asteroids are already named after mother goddesses or after schools, colleges, or universities. So Almamater isn’t needed to represent any of them. Almamater could perhaps represent Alma Redemptoris Mater because not any other asteroid is likely to get this name, but Virgin Mary is represented with other epithets by other asteroids. So Almamater’s main task should be to show in an aspect with asteroids named after schools, colleges, or universities that the concrete place is meant instead of an interpretation of the institution’s name. Almamater could still show the nourishing aspect when in an aspect with an asteroid named after a goddess or after a mother.