Huazhong University of Science and Technology, which is about to celebrate its 70th anniversary, received a gift from space. On March 21, the National Astronomical Observatory announced that it would name the permanent asteroid 52487 "Central China Science and Technology Star". On the same day, the naming ceremony of the asteroid was held online and offline.
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The asteroid was discovered on December 6, 1995 by observations at the Xinglong Base of the National Astronomical Observatory (1995 XO2), located between Mars and Jupiter, with an orbital period of 3.37 years. With the approval of the Small Body Naming Committee of the International Astronomical Union, the International Astronomical Union's Asteroid Naming Bulletin informs that the permanent asteroid 52487 has been named "Central China Science and Technology Star". The 52 harmonic "Wu Ai" in its number, and 487 are consistent with the record number of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in the Ministry of Education, and the two echo each other and convey the love of the school.
Asteroids are currently the only celestial bodies of any kind that are internationally recognized as being named by their discoverers. The International Astronomical Union has strict rules, accreditation and approval procedures for asteroid discoverers to obtain naming rights and to name asteroids. Early asteroids were generally named after goddesses in ancient mythological stories, and later naming evolved into the reverence or commemoration of specific people, places, landscapes, and events by planet discoverers. Due to the seriousness, uniqueness and permanent immutable nature of asteroid naming, it is a world-recognized honor to be named asteroid.
Professor Wu Qingwen of the School of Physics of Huazhong University of Science and Technology said that being able to receive the asteroid name is a world-class honor and of far-reaching significance. He and his colleagues in the college look forward to vigorously developing the basic science of standing on top of the sky and promoting the cause of measuring the earth and observing the sky in the central region.
Huazhong University of Science and Technology is known as "the epitome of the development of higher education in New China", cultivating a large number of outstanding talents for the country, serving the national innovation-driven development strategy, and showing responsibility in epidemic prevention and control and poverty alleviation. The school actively promotes the development of interdisciplinary disciplines such as physics, astronomy and space science. In October 1983, the school began to prepare for the establishment of the laboratory Astrophysics Teaching and Research Department (affiliated with the Department of Physics), in 1996 the establishment of the Astrophysics Team, in 2014 in the School of Physics established the Institute of Particles and Astrophysics, in 2019 officially established the Department of Astronomy, which opened a precedent for the development of astronomical disciplines and talent training in central China.
"Huazhong Science and Technology Star" shines in the starry sky and will become an eternal beacon in the hearts of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, guiding teachers and students to concentrate on learning, realistic and innovative, serving the country and contributing to society. Teachers and students of the school have said that the "Central China Science and Technology Star" will surely encourage and motivate all teachers and students to make greater contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the progress of human civilization.
Over the years, Huazhong University of Science and Technology has made many significant contributions in the field of astronomy. Luo Jun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of the Gravitation Center of the School of Physics of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, led the gravitational center team to successfully measure the highest precision gravitational constant G value so far in 2018 after more than 30 years of cave dormancy. This has achieved catch-up with the international top level, made substantial contributions to the determination of the recommended value of the high-precision gravitational constant G for the physics community, and also made substantial contributions to enhancing the mainland's discourse power in the field of basic physics.
In 2018, the results were published in the journal Nature. The research results were also selected into the "2018 Top Ten Advances in Chinese Science" selected by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China and the Top Ten Scientific and Technological Progress News of China in 2018 selected by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units. The latest edition of the people's education publishing house's 2019 general high school textbook physics compulsory volume II, Huazhong University of Science and Technology's gravitational G-value research results have been included.
In order to improve the measurement accuracy of G-value, the team developed a number of high-precision instruments and equipment in the process. These instruments have laid a good foundation for the smooth implementation of the "Lyra Project", a major scientific and technological infrastructure of the country for precision gravitational measurement, and space gravitational wave detection.
On December 20, 2019, the "Lyra-1" satellite was launched. The main payload of "Lyra-1" was jointly developed by the Gravitational Center of the School of Physics of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and the Lyra Center of the School of Physics and Astronomy of Sun Yat-sen University.
In May 2020, the "Lyra-1" mission cycle officially ended. According to the experimental personnel, after multi-party evaluation, the six major technologies of Lyra-1 have all passed the on-orbit verification, and each technical index is better than the task goal, reaching the highest level of similar technology in China. The on-orbit test results of the high-precision inertial sensor undertaken by the Gravitation center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology have raised the best level in China maintained by the project team by two orders of magnitude, reaching the leading level of similar devices in the world.
In January 2021, Huazhong University of Science and Technology developed and delivered the first high-precision quantum gravimeter. After double-blind measurement and evaluation at multiple points and comprehensive assessment by experts from many units, the accuracy of the instrument has reached the level of microgame, which has been well received by users and has successfully passed the acceptance. In 2022, the domestic equipment approved by Huazhong University of Science and Technology obtained global gravity field data, which is the first time that the mainland has measured this data using domestic independent satellites, making the mainland the third country in the world after the United States and Germany to have the ability to independently detect the global gravity field.
Huazhong University of Science and Technology's contribution to the field of astronomy does not stop there, in April 2019, the first black hole photo in human history was born, and Professor Wu Qingwen of the School of Physics of Huazhong University of Science and Technology participated in the process of "rinsing" black hole photos. Qingwen Wu and his graduate student Dr. Jianchao Feng are mainly involved in theoretical analysis.
In 2019, Huazhong University of Science and Technology established the first department of astronomy in central China. In 2020, Huazhong University of Science and Technology joined the "China Space Station Sky Survey Telescope Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Science Center". In 2021, the National Astronomical Observatory-Huazhong University of Science and Technology "Tianyan Joint Research Center" will be established to promote FAST-related scientific research and talent training in the central region.