Eighth asteroid named after China university

An asteroid has been named after a space science university -- the eighth asteroid with a Chinese university name -- according to China's National Astronomical Observatories.

The Beihang Asteroid has been approved by the Small Bodies Naming Committee of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), said Zhao Gang, a senior official with the observatories.

Beihang is the Chinese abbreviation of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The university celebrates its 60th founding anniversary this year.

A sculpture was unveiled Thursday at the campus of the university to mark the naming.

With a diameter of one to 10 km, the asteroid numbered 09830 is orbiting in an asteroid bell between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid was discovered by Chinese scientists in October 1995.

Seven asteroids were previously named after Chinese universities, including Peking University, Nanjing University, Beijing Normal University, Shandong University, University of Science and Technology of China, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Tsinghua University.