Wang Sichao
Wang Sichao 王思潮 | |||||||||||
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 Undated photo of Wang Sichao | |||||||||||
| Born | 1937 Rong County, Guangxi, China | ||||||||||
| Died | (aged 77) Nanjing, China | ||||||||||
| Alma mater | Peking University | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Astronomer | ||||||||||
| Years active | 1963–2016 | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 王思潮 | ||||||||||
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Wang Sichao (Chinese: 王思潮; 1937 – 17 June 2016) was a Chinese astronomer and scholar.[1] Between 1963 and 1999, he was a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing. Wang researched asteroids, meteors, comets, and unidentified flying objects.
Early life and education
[edit]Wang was born in 1937 in Rong County in Guangxi.[2][3] His ancestral hometown is in Guangzhou in Guangdong.[2] In his youth, he attended the primary and secondary schools affiliated with Sun Yat-sen University as well as the secondary school affiliated with South China Normal University.[2] Wang attended the Peking University where he received an astrophysics degree from the Department of Geophysics.[2][3]
Career
[edit]Upon graduation, in 1963 Wang joined the Purple Mountain Observatory as a research intern.[2] He was promoted to an assistant research position, an associate researcher position, and then a researcher position.[2] He retired in 1999 from the observatory.[2] As the first promoter in China of conducting studies of Near-Earth objects and asteroid impact avoidance, Wang was a pioneer of Chinese meteorology research.[2]
Alongside Ouyang Ziyuan in 1976, Wang did in-depth studies of meteor showers that happened in Jilin.[2][4] China News Service said Wang's research "achieved important results".[2] To conduct research where a meteor hit in Ningqiang County, he visited the Qin Mountains to retrieve samples.[2] Wang researched the falling ice in Wuxi.[2] Wang conducted research on comets for China.[2] In addition to studying Comet Hale–Bopp, he travelled to Australia with the astronomer Zhang Jiaxiang during Halley's Comet's 1986 apparition to collect information about it.[2] His research team correctly foresaw when a comet would collide in 1994.[2] Wang helped design and make a Near-Earth object telescope in Xuyi County.[2]
Wang began investigating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in 1971.[3] Wang believed that extraterrestrial life exists, possesses anti-gravity technology and is benevolent, stating this during interviews with the media such as China Central Television.[5] On one occasion, the popular science writer Fang Zhouzi stated that Wang had not provided proof for his claims.[6] Through email, Wang reached out to people in China who had seen UFOs to work with them to investigate the UFOs.[2]
China News Service called him "a well-known astronomy education expert in China".[2] He taught about planetary science, Small Solar System bodies, meteorites, and the search for extraterrestrial life.[2] He wrote popular science books and frequently appeared on television shows.[2] During the Internet era, he started Sina Weibo and WeChat accounts through which he shared information about astronomy.[2]
Personal life and death
[edit]To fund his child's or children's overseas education, Wang borrowed 300,000 yuan (US$48,420.22).[4] He put on pause the self-funded Big Dipper Observation Award (Chinese: 北斗星观测奖), which he had created in 2007 to raise awareness of UFOs, so that he could repay the education loan.[4]
Wang died on 17 June 2016 in Nanjing at the age of 77 after a cerebral haemorrhage.[2] His funeral was held on 19 June at the Nanjing Funeral Parlor in the Xitian Temple (Chinese: 西天寺).[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Yan, Yangtze, ed. (2006-08-25). "Pluto's demotion stirs mixed feelings". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 2009-05-23. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v 朱晓颖; 盛捷; 王苏毅 (2016-06-19). "各界悼念中国近地天体探测碰撞天文研究最早推动者王思潮" [All walks of life mourn Wang Sichao, the earliest promoter of China's NEO detection and collision astronomy research] (in Chinese). China News Service. Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
- ^ a b c d 龚菲 (2016-06-17). "中科院紫金山天文台研究员、UFO研究专家王思潮逝世" [Wang Sichao, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a UFO research expert, dies]. The Paper (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
- ^ a b c "【中国科学报】王思潮：50年捉一场迷藏" [[China Science Daily] Wang Sichao: 50 years of hide and seek]. China Science Daily (in Chinese). Chinese Academy of Sciences. 2013-02-22. Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
- ^ Wang, Qianyuanxue (2010-08-23). "Academician: Aliens exist, but also have weaknesses". People's Daily. Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
- ^ 王曦煜 (2010-07-26). "天文学家王思潮:39年追踪UFO 坚信外星人的存在" [Astronomer Wang Sichao: Tracking UFOs for 39 years and firmly believes in the existence of extraterrestrial life]. Qianjiang Evening News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-10-31 – via China News Service.
