Amateur astronomer discovers new asteroid

Tsai Yuan-sheng discovered the asteroid along with an assistant at the Lulin Observatory on Yushan, also known as Jade Mountain, March 20 and tentatively named it “Kaohsiung” after his hometown.

In August, the International Astronomical Union's Committee on Small Body Nomenclature (IAU's CSBN) — an international organization responsible for the naming of asteroids and comets — formally approved the designation and gave Tsai's discovery a permanent number “215080.”

It was the first asteroid discovered by an amateur Taiwanese astronomy buff to have won international recognition.

The asteroid, located between Mars and Jupiter, is similar in size to Kaohsiung International Airport. At perihelion, the closest point to the sun in its orbit, the asteroid is 350 million kilometers from the sun and at aphelion, its most distant point from the sun in its orbit, it is about 450 million kilometers from the sun.

It takes about four years for the newly identified asteroid to complete its orbit around the sun.

Tsai and Lin Chi-sheng, an astronomical observation assistant at Lulin Observatory, spotted the asteroid using highly advanced digital equipment.

Tsai recalled that he first detected that the body could both rotate around its own axis and circle the Sun and that its position coordinates varied each day.

“I then took photos of the object consecutively for analytical comparison and finally came to the conclusion that it was an asteroid that had never been documented before,” Tsai recalled.

According to Tsai, most larger asteroids have been discovered and only small asteroids that cannot be detected with the naked eye are still left to be spotted with highly sophisticated instruments.

Tsai, 40, began to develop his interest in observing the stars while studying at a military preparatory school as a teenager. At the time, he was required to stand guard at night, and the long hours with nothing to do led him to fall in love with stargazing.

He later dropped out of the naval academy to pursue his hobby more freely. He now often takes his wife and children high into the mountains to observe the stars at night.

Tsai has documented 13 asteroids, but “Kaohsiung” is the only one to have been recognized by the IAU's CSBN.

“I was so jubilant to obtain international recognition of my latest discovery and thus decided to name it 'Kaohsiung' to honor my beloved homeland,” Tsai said.

“I also want to share my happiness in discovering the new body with all fellow Kaohsiung residents,” Tsai said at the asteroid model presentation ceremony at the city's Gangho Elementary School.

For her part, Mayor Chen said the discovery of the asteroid and its designation as “Kaohsiung” are not only the “pride of Kaohsiung” but also the “pride of Taiwan.”

Noting that Tsai's achievement has inspired a “star chasing” fad in the city, Chen said the city government will step up efforts to promote astronomical education and cultivate more talent in the field.

Chen said she has directed the city's Bureau of Education to allocate NT$1 million (US$31,056) annually to help finance the operations of the Gangho Elementary School's astronomy observatory.

She also proposed that an astronomy-themed science park be established after Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County merge next year.

Tsai Ching-hua, director of the municipal education bureau, said the discovery of the asteroid has set a good model for the city's astronomy education and pledged to study the feasibility of setting up an astronomy theme park in the new Kaohsiung municipality.

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