Xi Zezong (June 6, 1927,
Yuanqu, Shanxi – December 27, 2008, Beijing) was a Chinese astronomer, historian, and translator.
He was a member of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...
, and an awardee of the Astronomy Prize.
He identified a possible reference to one of the
Galilean moons
The Galilean moons (), or Galilean satellites, are the four largest moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. They were first seen by Galileo Galilei in December 1609 or January 1610, and recognized by him as satellites of Jupite ...
of
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...
in the fragmentary ancient works of the 4th-century BC
Chinese astronomer Gan De
Gan De (; fl. 4th century BC), also known as the Lord Gan (Gan Gong), was an ancient Chinese astronomer and astrologer born in the State of Qi. Along with Shi Shen, he is believed to be the first in history known by name to compile a star catal ...
, who may have made observation of either
Ganymede or
Callisto in summer 365.
Honors
Asteroid
85472 Xizezong, discovered by the
Beijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program in 1997, was named in his honor.
The official was published by the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Function
T ...
on April 2, 2007 ().
References
External links
85472 Xizezong JPL Small-Body Database Browser
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xi, Zezong
1927 births
2008 deaths
20th-century Chinese translators
21st-century Chinese translators
20th-century Chinese astronomers
Historians from Shanxi
Historians of astronomy
Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
People from Yuncheng
People's Republic of China historians
People's Republic of China science writers
People's Republic of China translators
Scientists from Shanxi