Chinese Center for Antarctic Astronomy inaugurated
The founding of the Chinese Center for Antarctic Astronomy was proclaimed on Dec. 24 in Nanjing.
As a non-corporate body, the Center is composed of several institutions, including the CAS Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO), the CAS Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics & Technology, the Polar Research Institute of China under the State Oceanic Administration, National Astronomical Observatories at CAS (headquarters), Nanjing University, and the University of Science and Technology of China.
It will be affiliated to PMO and headed by Dr. WANG Lifan, an astronomer and astrophysicist from PMO.
As the plateau provides unique conditions for a wide range of astronomical observations, Antarctic astronomy will be greatly conducive for understanding the origin of the universe, says YE Shuhua, chair of the Center's Academic Steering Committee and an astronomer from the CAS Shanghai Astronomical Observatory.
