A website that helps to track the trajectory of the asteroid Tomskuniver was launched on the 127th anniversary of Tomsk State University. The TSU physicists who created the website plan to conduct research using the largest telescope in Russia to learn more about this minor planet, including the evolution of its orbit. This will help us learn the origin of this cosmic “guest” in our solar system.
Asteroid No. 343322 was discovered by amateur astronomer Timur Kryachko at the Zelenchukskaya station of Kazan State University in 2010. The minor planet was named Tomskuniver when TSU celebrated its 140th anniversary. According to TSU physicists, there must be a very good reason for the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to assign a name to a minor planet. The discoverer agreed that Tomskuniver was a worthy name for the asteroid and the members of the IAU Naming Committee also agreed.
– The asteroid Tomskuniver is located in the Main Belt of the Solar System and has a well-defined orbit, explains Dmitry Kaparulin, associate professor of the Department of Astronomy and Space Geodesy at the Faculty of Physics. Our website features a map of the starry sky where this orbit can be traced.
Very little is known about the physical properties of the asteroid. Observations by the NEOWISE space telescope made it possible to determine the diameter of the planet, which is 3.2 kilometers with a possible error of hundreds of meters. The surface of the asteroid is covered with craters, it is dark and reflects only six percent of the light falling on it. Tomskuniver has no atmosphere, has never been visited by spacecraft, and there are currently no photographs of it. The asteroid can be observed in photographs taken with large telescopes with a lens diameter of at least 300 mm.
More information about Tomskuniver at: https://asteroid.tsu.ru/about_asteroid/. Here you can also make a donation to the TSU Endowment Fund in target capital No. 1, which revenues go to additional scholarships and the development of new projects in the fields of science, education, and culture.
– Students, staff, and alumni of the university never leave the TSU “orbit.” No matter where they are in the world, these people are like family united by the university, says Maria Bulygina, director of the TSU Endowment Fund. If anyone wishes to contribute to the development of the university, they can make a donation on the website https://asteroid.tsu.ru, dedicated to the minor planet Tomskuniver, and receive a commemorative certificate.
It should be added that the donations to the Endowment Fund, among other things, can be used for research that will provide new information about the asteroid.
Scientists from the Department of Astronomy and Space Geodesy at TSU Faculty of Physics plan to conduct research using the largest optical telescope with a main monolithic mirror diameter of 6 meters, the largest in Eurasia. The telescope is located at the Special Astrophysical Observatory near the Nizhny Arkhyz village (Zelenchuksky District, Karachay-Cherkessia). The study will reveal the origin of the asteroid, the evolution of its orbit, and additional physical data such as its shape and size, the presence of satellites, and so on.