(3704) Gaoshiqi Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 20 December 1981 by Purple Mountain Observatory at Nanking.
Gao Shi-Qi (1905-1988) is considered the founder of science popularization in China. His contraction of encephalitis during a scientific experiment at the University of Chicago in 1928 caused paralysis of his whole body.Naming citation (19990928/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Gaoshiqi is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Gaoshiqi is 2.52 au from the Sun and 1.97 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 3704 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 YX1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.58 km (#5,367 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.243 |
| Rotation period | 9.70 hours |
| Spectral type | Xk |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.66 |
| Orbital period | 3.74 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.41 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.28 – 2.53 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0517 |
| Inclination | 5.90° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.27 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.