(120730) Zhouyouyuan Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 September 1997 by Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program at Xinglong.
Zhou Youyuan (b. 1938) is a leading astrophysicist and an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has made significant contributions to the study of quasars, active galactic nuclei, cosmology, large scale structures of the universe, and high-energy astrophysics.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2018-09-25), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Zhouyouyuan is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Zhouyouyuan is 1.93 au from the Sun and 1.42 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 120730 |
| Provisional designation | 1997 SN33 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 17.11 |
| Orbital period | 3.57 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.34 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.79 – 2.88 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.235 |
| Inclination | 1.44° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.786 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Zhou
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