Lee said that the name "Chiayi" was to commemorate the aboriginal people living in Chiayi County who contributed to the maintenance of the observatory, which is set on Lulin Mountain at an altitude of 2,862 meters. In the early stage of the observatory's establishment, Bunun and Tsou tribespeople carried equipment and even gas tanks up to the site, where there was no tap water or electricity. Currently, maintenance still depends on the 24-hour stewardship of four Tsou tribesmen: Shi Jun-xiong, Shi Hao-wei, Du Jin-quan and Wang Rong-jin.
The minor planet was discovered between Mars and Jupiter by Lulin Observatory Director Lin Hung-chin and Ye Chuanchih, a student at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, on Oct. 25, 2006. The planet is about 2.4 kilometers in diameter and it takes 3.62 years for Chiayi to orbit the sun.
The NCU Graduate Institute of Astronomy has carried out its "Lulin Sky Survey" since March 2006 to scout for new celestial bodies. The observatory has found about 450 minor planets to date, and NCU has the right to name four of them. The school named minor planet No. 145534 as "Jhongda," which in Mandarin Chinese is an abbreviation for "Central University," and minor planet No. 145523 as "Lulin" April 2 this year. NCU said it has not yet decided on the name for the fourth minor planet.
In related news, NCU Vice President Ip Wing-huen revealed that the research team has joined the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System. Pan-STARRS, developed by the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy under the supervision of the U.S. Department of State, is an international research project aiming to discover approaching asteroids and comets that may pose a danger to the Earth. German and British astronomers are participating in the project, and Taiwan is the only team from Asia, Ip pointed out.
Currently, Lulin Observatory uses a 1-meter telescope that it bought in 2002. Lee noted that NCU will spend US$3.98 million to purchase a new telescope with a diameter of 2 meters before 2010, to enhance its ability to observe celestial bodies.
Write to Amber Wu at amber0207@mail.gio.gov.tw