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Asteroid 3122 Florence
Display No. 64
The asteroid was named after Florence Nightingale by American astronomer Schelte J. ‘Bobby’ Bus in 1981. Florence is unusually large at 5 kilometres in diameter. It completes an orbit of our sun every 859 days. It passed close to the Earth in 2017 and observations of this asteroid revealed, among other things, that Florence has two moons. This image is showing the path of the asteroid in 2017.
Image by Gianluca Masi, Virtual Telescope Project – www.virtualtelescope.eu
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Nightingale is respected worldwide for her pioneering role in developing the nursing profession, her statistical work, and her evidence-based approach to healthcare. In honour of her bicentenary the World Health Organisation have named 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife.
In our special exhibition, you will find out about objects, people and places which tell interesting stories about Florence’s life and legacy. You’ll discover artefacts from her life, people she both inspired and challenged, and places she helped to shape. There’s many more insights too!
Please click on the different sections of her famous coxcomb diagram to explore various aspects of her life and legacy. We hope you enjoy exploring!