(4730) Xingmingzhou Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 7 December 1980 by Purple Mountain Observatory at Nanking.
Xing-Ming Zhou (1965–2004), a meteorologist and comet hunter from Xinjiang province, detected 64 near-Sun comets in SOHO's LASCO images and one in SOHO's SWAN images. He also independently discovered two other comets. A tireless and precise observer, he chronicled his observations on the Silk Road Astronomy website.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 6, #3, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Xingmingzhou is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Xingmingzhou is 3.20 au from the Sun and 4.09 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 4730 |
| Provisional designation | 1980 XZ |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 24.6 km (#1,721 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.104 |
| Rotation period | 3.40 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 11.44 |
| Orbital period | 5.53 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.13 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.98 – 3.27 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0455 |
| Inclination | 12.0° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.97 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Ming
All asteroids named after someone called Ming