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Purple Mountain Observatory

Purple Mountain Observatory

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Purple Mountain Observatory , also known as Zijinshan Astronomical Observatory, is an astronomical observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...

 located on the Purple Mountain in Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

The long time director of the observatory (from 1950 to 1984) was Zhang Yuzhe
Zhang Yuzhe
Zhang Yuzhe or Yu-che Chang was a Chinese astronomer who is widely regarded as the father of modern Chinese astronomy....

 (张钰哲) (Y. C. Chang).

The observatory discovered the periodic comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...

s 60P/Tsuchinshan
60P/Tsuchinshan
60P/Tsuchinshan, also known as Tsuchinshan 2, is a periodic comet in our solar system.- External links :*...

 and 62P/Tsuchinshan, and also the non-periodic C/1977 V1 (Tsuchinshan), also known as Comet 1977 X.

Many asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

s were also discovered at the observatory, including the Trojan asteroid
Trojan asteroid
The Jupiter Trojans, commonly called Trojans or Trojan asteroids, are a large group of objects that share the orbit of the planet Jupiter around the Sun. Relative to Jupiter, each Trojan librates around one of the planet's two Lagrangian points of stability, and , that respectively lie 60° ahead...

s 2223 Sarpedon
2223 Sarpedon
2223 Sarpedon is a Jupiter Trojan discovered on October 4, 1977 at Purple Mountain Observatory and named after the Lycian hero Sarpedon from the Iliad.- References :*...

, 2260 Neoptolemus
2260 Neoptolemus
2260 Neoptolemus is a Jupiter Trojan asteroid that orbits in the Lagrangian point of the Sun-Jupiter system, in the "Greek Camp" of Trojan asteroids. It was named after the Greek hero Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles. It was discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China on...

, 2363 Cebriones
2363 Cebriones
2363 Cebriones is a Jupiter Trojan discovered on October 4, 1977 at Purple Mountain Observatory. This asteroid is named for Cebriones the charioteer of Hector.-References:...

, 2456 Palamedes
2456 Palamedes
2456 Palamedes is a Jupiter Trojan asteroid that orbits in the Lagrangian point of the Sun-Jupiter system, in the "Greek Camp" of Trojan asteroids. It was named after the Greek hero Palamedes. It was discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China on January 30, 1966.-External...

, as well as the eponymous 3494 Purple Mountain
3494 Purple Mountain
3494 Purple Mountain is a small main belt asteroid. It is not purple; its unusual name comes from the Purple Mountain Observatory in China, where it was rediscovered in 1980...

.

External links