To welcome China Space Day, count the "China Space Stars" on the sky
Asteroids refer to celestial bodies in the solar system that are similar to planets orbiting the sun, but are much smaller in volume and mass than planets.
The naming of asteroids needs to ensure the uniqueness of the naming. Once determined to be permanent and unchangeable, this also makes the naming of asteroids an international and permanent lofty honor. After approval, it will be recognized by all countries in the world and will be recorded in the astronomical history forever.
As the sixth "China Space Day" is approaching, let us count the number of "China Space Stars" in the sky.
Asteroids named after space heroes
As the ambassadors of civilization sent to space by mankind, astronauts are of concern to the world. It is no better choice to name asteroids after astronauts.
At 9:00 on October 15, 2003, Yang Liwei took the Shenzhou V spacecraft carried by the Long March 2F rocket into space for the first time. It took 21 hours and 23 minutes and returned to the main landing site in Inner Mongolia at 6:23 on October 16, 2003, becoming China. The first astronaut to enter space.
To commend Yang Liwei for his contribution to the development of aerospace industry, when Yang Liwei returned from space on the Shenzhou V spacecraft, the Nanjing Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences planned to name the asteroid they discovered with the permanent international number 8256 as Yang Liwei star .
After preparing for the declaration procedures, he learned that the Spanish astronomer Esther had preemptively named an asteroid he discovered as "Yang Liwei Star".
Upon learning of this news, the Purple Mountain Observatory immediately applied for asteroid No. 8256 to be named "Shenzhou Star" in order to express its respect to all the experts and staff who have contributed to the Shenzhou spacecraft.
On October 12, 2005, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng carried out the Shenzhou VI manned space flight mission and returned to the ground on October 17 of that year.
The complete success of the Shenzhou-6 mission achieved a "multi-person, multi-day" space flight, and completed a space science experiment with human participation in the true sense of China.
Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng became the second batch of Chinese astronauts to go to space. To commend their contributions, on December 15, 2005, the International Astronomical Union’s Asteroid Naming Center named the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on February 13, 1966. The asteroid discovered by the Japanese and the international permanent number 9512 was named "Fei Junlong Star", and the asteroid discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on November 3, 1977 with the international permanent number 9517 was named " Nie Haishengxing".
It is a coincidence that the two asteroids discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory have not been named before the Shenzhou 6 spacecraft went to the sky.
The international numbers of these two asteroids, one is 9512, and the two ending numbers are the same as the 12th day when the spacecraft took off; the other is "9517", the ending two numbers are the same as the 17th day when the spacecraft returns.
No wonder some people say that these two asteroids are waiting for our Shenzhou VI spacecraft to go to the sky!
Asteroids named after space experts
The international permanent number 4179 asteroid is a near-Earth asteroid that threatens the Earth by impact.
It was first discovered in 1934 and then lost. It was rediscovered by French astronomers in 1989 and named after the Celtic god of war "Tutatis".
Research on "Tutatis" helps to understand important information about the evolution of asteroids in the early solar system collisions. At the same time, "Tutatis" is also the largest known target that poses a potential threat to the Earth.
Therefore, the target has received widespread attention from scientists, and the United States has repeatedly used ground radar detection to obtain its physical information.
In 2008, Huang Jiangchuan, a researcher at the China Institute of Space Technology, led a scientific research team to plan for Chang'e-2 to fly by and detect "Tutatis".
In 2012, Professor Qiao Dong from Beijing Institute of Technology was invited to participate in the Chang'e-2 mission design team to make target selection and orbit design for the Chang'e-2 flyby detection "Tutatis".
At 16:30 on December 13, 2012, the Chang'e-2 satellite flew into the deep space about 7 million kilometers away from the earth, passing by "Tutatis" from far to near, and the relative distance during the rendezvous was controlled. At about 15 kilometers, the relative speed is nearly 11 kilometers per second.
The Chang'e-2 satellite-borne surveillance camera carried out optical imaging of the asteroid, achieving the first close rendezvous and overflight imaging of the asteroid Tutatis in the world, and obtained important information and data about the asteroid, which greatly improved The scientific community’s overall understanding of it.
This is not only the first time in the world to fly over to detect the Tuatatis asteroid, but also the first of our country's first asteroid detection mission.
To commend Huang Jiangchuan and Qiao Dong for their contributions to the development of aerospace industry, the Asteroid Naming Center of the International Astronomical Union named the asteroid with the international permanent number 10298 "Huangjiangchuanxing" and the international permanent number 11812. The asteroid of the number is named "Qiaodong Star".