[Astronomy] University Names Asteroid "Miaoli" to Thank County for Its Support

[Astronomy] University Names Asteroid "Miaoli" to Thank County for Its Support (Chinese Version)

CNA – Focus Taiwan (2012/04/23) National Central University held a ceremony Monday (April 23) to celebrate naming an asteroid it discovered "Miaoli," the northern Taiwanese county where the school resumed operations 50 years ago.

Speaking at the ceremony, Gin-rong LIU, Acting President of the university, said the school chose the name out of gratitude to the county for provided strong support and free land to help it resume operations in 1962.

The school also gave a model of the asteroid to Miaoli County Magistrate Cheng-hung LIU during the ceremony.

The asteroid was first discovered in 2008 by an assistant at the school's Lulin Observatory in Chiayi County with the help of a student at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, the university said.

The International Astronomical Union approved naming the asteroid Miaoli last year, the university said.

According to Yi CHOU, head of the university's Graduate Institute of Astronomy, the asteroid is located on the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and is 150 million kilometers away when it is at the closest point to Earth.


Related Historical Messages:
[Astronomy] New Planet Named after 'Father of Chinese Physics' 2012/01/18
[Science Education][International Participation] Taiwanese High School Students Discover Asteroids 2011/05/28



Further Information:
CNA – Focus Taiwan 2012/04/23

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