An international scientific body honoured Philippine physicist Roman Kintanar by using his name to identify a newly found asteroid that circles the Sun from the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, local papers said.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially christened as "Kintanar" the asteroid which was originally identified as 6636, in Massachusetts on April 2, local papers said in a belated report.

"This is such a big honour for me. I feel that my efforts in the past are well compensated by this unique accolade," said Kintanar, 77, head of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) from 1958 to 1994. He was also president of the UN World Meteorological Organisation from 1979 to 1987. He received his doctorate from the University of Texas in 1958.

Bulgarian astronomer Vladimir Georgiev Shkodrov discovered the Kintanar-asteroid that measures 4-9km in diameter.