Director Tsui Hark lends name to asteroid

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Fantasy film Hong Kong director Tsui Hark has another accolade to add to his trove of honors: the International Astronomical Union has authorized the naming of an asteroid 3.5 billion kilometers from Earth after him.

23258 Tsuihark (2000 YY21) is a main-belt asteroid located between Mars and Saturn. It was discovered by astronomer Yeung Kwong Yu, who chose to name it after Tsui, at Desert Beaver Observatory in Arizona in 2000.

Asteroids have been named after other Hong Kongers such as Sir Run Run Shaw and Louis Cha, but Tsui is the first of its directors to receive the honor.

Tsui told Chinese media that when he first learned about the asteroid naming, he thought it was very wonderful to own an asteroid under his name.

Tsui also said he "occasionally thought" about the asteroid while waiting for IAU certification. Sometimes he would think, "Maybe the asteroid moved and couldn't be found?" His fears were assuaged when he received the certificate, confirming that the asteroid was still in space.

"If this star isn't too far, I would like to go and look around," Tsui joked.

Tsui said he also considered writing a story for this asteroid.