An asteroid discovered by Lulin Observatory in central Taiwan’s Nantou County has been named after Nantou’s Sun Moon Lake, according to the observatory’s operator National Central University.
With the approval of the International Astronomical Union, asteroid No. 300286 has been officially named “Zintun,” or Sun Moon Lake in the Thao language spoken by the indigenous Thao people in Nantou, according to the university on Saturday.
The university, which discovered the asteroid in 2007, said it hoped to pay tribute to indigenous people who made a difficult journey from western Taiwan to the Central Mountain Range and discovered the lake.
According to the university, the asteroid has a diameter of about 1.3 kilometers and an orbital period of 3.87 years.
“Zintun” has a perihelion and aphelion — referring to the nearest and farthest points to the Sun in its orbit, respectively — of 283 million kilometers and 456 million kilometers, the university said, adding that it can be spotted near the Sagittarius constellation at the moment.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel