Tuesday, 4 February 2025

Taowu, Chinese mythology for (471325) 2011 KT19

On February 3, 2025, the damocloid centaur 2011 KT19 was officially named (471325) Taowu.
 
"One of the Four Perils of Chinese mythology, Taowu is a ferocious and stubborn beast said to lurk within the western regions of China. It is depicted as having a human head, tiger legs, boar tusks, and a long tail." (WGSBN Bulletin 5, #2).
 
 
This mythological creature combines emotional and mental intelligence (human head), the ability to catch and grab its prey (tiger legs), initiative and forward momentum (boar tusks), and a great sense of balance when moving and rejoining (long tail).
 
The concept of 'peril' in Ancient China is explained in the hexagram nº 29 of I-Ching, entitled "“The Abysmal”". It refers to the ability to analyze all the possibilities and aspects of a situation, which allows one to find the correct and most appropriate solution to it.
 
The damocloid centaur Taowu is in resonance 1:18 with Jupiter (semi-major axis), which indicates faith and confidence in resolving situations that are untimely, out of place or inverted; and in resonance 1:2 with Neptune (aphelion), which indicates the capacity for infiltration. Its retrograde and highly inclined orbit is related to inner experiences that are very far from the everyday and the habitual.