(2255) Qinghai Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 3 November 1977 by Purple Mountain Observatory at Nanking.
Named for a large province in the western part of China. The sources of the two largest rivers in China, the Yellow River and the Yangtze, are in this province.Naming citation (MPC 6059), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Qinghai is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Qinghai is 2.66 au from the Sun and 1.68 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 2255 |
| Provisional designation | 1977 VK1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 24.1 km (#1,762 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0700 |
| Rotation period | 9.78 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 11.95 |
| Orbital period | 5.47 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.10 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.65 – 3.56 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.146 |
| Inclination | 14.1° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.66 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.