Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/03/03
By: Worthy Shen and Y.F. Low
Taipei, March 3 (CNA) A minor planet co-discovered by an astronomer at Taiwan’s National Central
(Picture downloaded from NASA website)
University (NCU) in 2006 has been officially named “Yilan,” after a county in Taiwan, the university said Friday.
The naming was finalized by the International Astronomical Union last year, Lin Hung-chin (林宏欽), head of NCU’s Lulin Observatory, announced in an event held at Chenggong Elementary School in Yilan County’s Luodong township.
“Yilan” was discovered by Lin and Chinese amateur astronomer Ye Quanzhi (葉泉志) on Aug. 12, 2006.
According to Lin, “Yilan” takes 3.78 years to orbit around the sun. Its closet and farthest distance to the sun are 300 million kilometers and 420 million kilometers, respectively.
It was near the constellation Capricornus when it was discovered and is now near Ophiuchus, Lin said.
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