(21272) Suyi Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 18 September 1996 by Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program at Xinglong.
Su Yi (b. 1938) is Professor Emeritus at Nankai University and a longtime advocate of astronomy education in China. A 1958 astronomy graduate of Nanjing University, he taught astronomy courses at Nankai and Tianjin Universities for a quarter century and authored A New Introduction to Astronomy, a widely-used textbook now in its fifth edition.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 6, #10, 9), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Suyi is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Suyi is 2.06 au from the Sun and 1.28 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 21272 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 SA1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 2.80 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.28 |
| Orbital period | 3.30 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.22 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.00 – 2.44 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0998 |
| Inclination | 9.15° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.04 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Su
All asteroids named after someone called Su