China News Service, Shaoxing, September 28 (Xiang Jing Gu Danni) "I thought this photo was beautiful at first, but I really didn't expect to win an award." After the work won the championship in the youth group of the 2022 Astrophotographer Competition, Zhejiang Shaoxing Zhou Zezhen, a 14-year-old boy, said in a recent interview that he and his teammate Yang Hanwen met on the astronomy forum and have been "chasing stars" online.
The results of the 2022 Astrophotographer Contest hosted by the Royal Observatory of Greenwich in the United Kingdom have been announced recently. More than 3,000 entries from 67 countries and regions participated in the competition. Two Chinese teenagers, Yang Hanwen and Zhou Zezhen, won the prize with their painting "Andromeda Galaxy: Neighbors". Youth Champion.
It is reported that the competition is one of the world's top astronomical events, known as the "Oscars" of the astrophotography industry.
"It's always been online (communication), we haven't met offline yet." Zhou Zezhen mentioned that his teammate Yang Hanwen is from Xiamen, Fujian. Very unexpected.
In October 2021, Yang Hanwen mailed an astronomical camera to an astronomical base in Chuxiong, Yunnan, and remotely took hundreds of images through computer remote control. Each image was exposed for 5 minutes. Yang Hanwen selected the best 17 hours, and Zhou Zezhen passed it again. The entry will be superimposed and synthesized later.
"In addition to the failed attempts, it took about 9 hours for this competition photo." Zhou Zezhen said, "There must be some difficulties in the later stage, but astronomy is a hobby, and even if it is difficult, it is happy."
Zhou Zezhen became involved with astronomy four years ago. The mystery and vastness of the Milky Way made him fall in love with astrophotography.
"It was summer at that time, and I saw a white strip in the sky. I thought it was a cloud at the time, but I found out that it was the Milky Way after I checked the data." Zhou Zezhen said, "I thought this thing was amazing, and I liked it. already."
After entering high school, Zhou Zezhen joined the school's astronomy club to learn more astronomy knowledge in his spare time. The club sometimes organizes students to take portable astronomical telescopes for outdoor photography.
"The most important thing is that Zhou Zezhen is very good at learning. When he encounters problems in class, he will raise his hand to ask questions." Lu Liaoya, the instructor of the Astronomy Club of Shaoxing No. 1 Middle School, said in an interview.
For Zhou Zezhen, winning this international award is a new starting point.
He said that he will continue to participate in astronomical competitions to explore the vast universe.
"The mere superficial record still can't satisfy my curiosity. I still need to learn more theoretical knowledge to give myself a deeper understanding of astronomy." Zhou Zezhen said.
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