A minor planet co-discovered by the Lulin Observatory of National Central University has been named Yilan in tribute to the northeastern Taiwan county’s natural beauty and rich culture, Acting Yilan County Magistrate Wu Ze-cheng and NCU President Jou Jing-yang announced March 3.
Jointly discovered Aug. 12, 2006, by Lin Hung-chin, head of the observatory, and California Institute of Technology astronomer Ye Quanzhi, the minor planet is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and classified as a main-belt asteroid. Yilan 2006 PC8 measures between 1 and 3 km in diameter and takes 3.78 years to orbit the sun.
Its closest and farthest distances from the sun are 300 million km and 420 million km, respectively. It was uncovered in a portion of the sky near the Capricornus constellation and this month is close to the Ophiuchus constellation.
The title of Yilan was officially published Sept. 9, 2014, by the Paris-based International Astronomical Union, Lin said, adding that he hopes this will bring further international recognition to the northeastern county.
Wu said at the announcement that the naming of the asteroid has given Yilan “a place among the stars,” while encouraging local students to learn more about astronomy and the mysteries of the universe.
According to Jou, the Lulin Observatory, located in Yushan National Park in central Taiwan’s Nantou County, is the nation’s most important optical astronomy facility and among the most active in Asia with regard to uncovering minor planets.
Established in 1999, the Lulin Observatory discovered around 800 asteroids, one near-Earth asteroid and one comet between 2006 and 2009, NCU’s Graduate Institute of Astronomy said. (KWS-E)
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