Purple Mountain Observatory

Purple Mountain Observatory

Purple Mountain Observatory
Organization Chinese Academy of Sciences
Code 330  
Location Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China
Altitude 267 m (876 ft)
Established 1934
Website
www.pmo.ac.cn/

Purple Mountain Observatory (Chinese: 紫金山天文台; pinyin: Zĭjīnshān Tiānwéntái), also known as Zijinshan Astronomical Observatory, is an astronomical observatory located on the Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China.

The long time director of the observatory (from 1950 to 1984) was Zhang Yuzhe (张钰哲) (Y. C. Chang).

The observatory discovered the periodic comets 60P/Tsuchinshan and 62P/Tsuchinshan, and also the non-periodic C/1977 V1 (Tsuchinshan), also known as Comet 1977 X.

Many asteroids were also discovered at the observatory, including the Trojan asteroids 2223 Sarpedon, 2260 Neoptolemus, 2363 Cebriones, 2456 Palamedes, as well as the eponymous 3494 Purple Mountain.

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