On July 26, the Department of Astronomy in the School of Physics, HUST, which is also the first department of astronomy in central China, was established, witnessed by 10 academicians, approximately 200 astronomers and more than 100 thousand people online and offline. Attendees also had the opportunity to see the blueprint of Wuhan Yujiashan Observatory unveiled.
The Deputy Dean Xu Xiaodong expressed warm welcome to all the attendees and great thanks to the scholars who contributed to the establishment of the Department of Astronomy. He pointed that HUST would constantly promote the interdisciplinary development of astronomy, physics and other disciplines, achieving leading research outcomes. Various resources would be utilized together for supporting the development of Astronomy in China.
Zhaohui Ye and Xiaodong Xu, the academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kai Zhang, the Chair of the School of Physics Council and Xiangsong Chen, the Dean of the School of Physics together inaugurated for the Department of Astronomy and pressed the “Start Button” of Yujiashan Observatory. The President of Hubei Astronomical Society, Zheng Xiaoping was appointed to be the Dean of the Department of Astronomy. His research field included neutron star state, magnetic field and gravitational wave radiation.
Astronomy, as one of six basic disciplines of natural science (including math, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geography, and biology,) is a subject that studies the universe and the formation, structure, and evolution of celestial objects. The forward-looking scientific issues and studies are of great theoretical and applied value. The successful launch of "Tianwen-1", the Mars probe, began the new era of Chinese planetary exploration. With the development of society, astronomy would play a more important role in catching up with the scientific frontier and serving Chinese national strategic needs.
Zheng said that the department at present had a teaching laboratory and a numerical simulation laboratory that contributed to astronomy training in HUST. The research interests of the department included galaxies, active galaxies, compact objects, gravitational waves, astronomical technology, astronomical optical technology, etc. Significant results had been made in activities including supermassive black holes, comprehensive research on compact objects of different scales, pulsar timing array search for supermassive binary black holes, pulsar radiation mechanism, gamma-ray bursts, black hole binaries, cosmic rays, gravitational wave science and detection technology, as well asoptical telescope technology, etc.
"Field investigations have been carried out for building Yujiashan Observatory, Tianwen Popular Science Park, Star Hall, Astronomy Laboratory, and the Planetarium, among which Yujiashan Observatory is a 1.5-meter laser ranging station to be built on Yujiashan, the highest peak in Wuhan City. The observatory will provide the launch of the Tianqin satellite with technical support to achieve millimeter range accuracy, promoting astronomical technology." Professor Qingwen Wu, executive deputy director of the Department of Astronomy, introduced at the ceremony. As an advanced optical experiment platform, Yujiashan Observatory would vigorously promote the development of optical design and experimentation, optical fiber technology, automatic control technology, laser technology and image processing technology, and would play a great role in cultivating students' operational abilities, training interdisciplinary talents and popularizing the science. HUST would jointly build the first astronomy science park in Hubei province with its affiliated planetarium, providing a first-class scientific educational environment for primary and middle school students as well as citizens in Central China. Star Hall was located in a cave in Yujashan, which gave visitors a chance to ponder and answer "Heavenly questions".
Professor Luo, the member of the Chinese Academy of Science, and the President of Sun Yat-sen University, said that the establishment of the Department of Astronomy was a historic moment, which would promote the development of related disciplines in the university. Meanwhile, the construction of Yujiashan Observatory was beneficial to science popularization and talent training. They expected that more people would gain interest in astronomy and willingness to explore this field.
After the opening ceremony, more than 100 experts at home and abroad attended the seminar on the topic of the development of the Department of Astronomy, putting forward valuable suggestions for the future of the subject in Central China.
HUST has attached great importance to the development of astronomy. It was reported that the preparation for the establishment was started a long time ago. In October 1983, the university began to build the Astrophysics Teaching and Research Laboratory (attached to the Physics Department). In 1996, the astrophysics team was re-established in the Gravity Experimental Center. In 2014, the Institute of Particle and Astrophysics was established in the School of Physics, which was engaged in particle, astrophysics, cosmology, and other researches. In 2017, it further narrowed its research down to theoretical research on gravitational wave astronomy centering on the Tianqin space-based gravitational wave detection program.
