National Central University (NCU) on Monday released a book telling the stories behind the naming of 40 asteroids discovered by its Lulin Observatory.
The book, titled The Story of Asteroids (小行星的故事), aims to draw attention to the nation’s spirit and values, the university said.
Built in 1992, the observatory in Nantou County is the highest in Taiwan. It has made hundreds of thousands of observations on more than 800 asteroids since discovering its first in 2002.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Researchers have officially named more than 100 of the objects after notable people and locations in Taiwan.
The university owes its international acclaim to more than 40 years of investment into the observatory, Academia Sinica academician Ip Wing-huen (葉永烜) said.
As there are no observatories in the Pacific Ocean from western Hawaii to Taiwan, many astronomers from around the world seek input from Lulin, he said.
The asteroids discovered by the observatory are valuable assets for Taiwan, as according to International Astronomical Union rules, asteroids may be named by those who discover them, Ip added.
Aside from using naming rights to commemorate Taiwanese figures and locations, Ip said that the observatory also plans to begin naming asteroids after important figures in Asia.
Lulin Observatory director Lin Hung-chin (林宏欽) said that the facility benefits from its favorable location.
From 2006 to 2009, numerous discoveries were made every day and sent for official recognition, Lin said.
NCU president Jou Jing-yang (周景揚) said that during the period, astronomers focused on the area between Saturn and Jupiter, where asteroids have an orbit of three to five years.
Of the more than 800 asteroids discovered at the observatory, more than 400 have been granted permanent identification after determining their precise orbits, he added.
The naming process can take from one to 10 years, Lin said, adding that all literature mentioning the celestial bodies would use those names.
While discovering asteroids is the purview of scientists, naming them has cultural implications, said Lee Jui-teng (李瑞騰), director of the Humanities Center at NCU.
The names highlight the value of Taiwan through locations such as Hehuanshan or Nantou, or people such as Delta Electronics founder Bruce Cheng (鄭崇華) or philanthropist Chen Shu-chu (陳樹菊), Lee said.
They also honor the literary talents of people such as lyricist Teng Yu-hsien (鄧雨賢) and Hakka novelist Chung Li-ho (鍾理和), as well as NCU academics Lo Chia-lun (羅家倫) and Tsai Wen-hsiang (蔡文祥), he added.
The university has even named an asteroid after South African activist and former Constitutional Court of South Africa judge Albie Sachs to honor the human rights champion, Lee added.
Before beginning the naming process, applicants must first prove an asteroid’s existence and plot its precise orbital path, Jou said.
The names cannot be related to business or politics, so they tend to reference the humanities, he said, adding that this shows the contributions the field has to offer.
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