Gao Xing

Lore & Background

On the night of February 26, 2009, he discovered a nova in Sagittarius in the Galaxy's central part with his partner Sun Guoyou from Wenzhou. He reported the discovery to the International Astronomical Union on May 29 and acquired the identification. On the night of October 3, 2010, he discovered a new supernova in NGC5430 with Sun Guoyou. He also discovered several SOHO comets and NEAT asteroids. Currently, he works as a physics teacher at the Urumqi No.1 High School. In 2017 he was awarded the Gordon Myers Amateur Achievement Award.

Reader's Guide

Gao Xing's significance in amateur astronomy stems from his multiple comet discoveries, including C/2008 C1 (Chen-Gao), P/2009 L2 (Yang-Gao), and C/2015 F5 (SWAN-Xingming), each made with different collaborators. His discovery of a nova in Sagittarius in 2009 and a supernova in NGC5430 in 2010, both with Sun Guoyou, further demonstrate his observational contributions. The Edgar Wilson Award, which he won for 2008 and also for 2015 three times, recognizes his comet discoveries. The Gordon Myers Amateur Achievement Award in 2017 honors his overall achievements. His work as a physics teacher at Urumqi No.1 High School and his building of Xingming Observatory in 2006 highlight his dedication to astronomy from a remote location in Xinjiang. His discoveries of SOHO comets and NEAT asteroids add to his legacy as a prolific amateur observer.

Did You Know?

• Gao Xing built Xingming Observatory in 2006.
• He discovered Comet C/2008 C1 (Chen-Gao) on February 1, 2008 with Chen Tao.
• He discovered a nova in Sagittarius on February 26, 2009 with Sun Guoyou.

Physics Teacher and Celestial Discoverer

Gao Xing holds a dual identity that sets him apart in the world of Chinese secondary education. By profession, he is a physics teacher at the No. 1 Senior High School of Ürümqi, the oldest school in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, an institution whose roots stretch back to 1891 during the Qing dynasty. Beyond the classroom, however, he is an avid astronomy amateur whose observational work has led to the discovery of several celestial bodies. This combination of a day-to-day teaching role in a public high school in Ürümqi's Tianshan District and a genuine contribution to astronomical discovery is relatively rare, particularly at the secondary-education level. His work bridges the gap between formal science instruction and the hands-on practice of identifying and cataloguing objects in the night sky, giving his students a living example of what sustained curiosity and disciplined observation can achieve outside a professional research laboratory.

Heading the School's Astronomy Group

Gao Xing serves as the head of the Ürümqi No. 1 Senior High School Astronomy Group, a student organization that routinely seeks out young people with a genuine passion for astronomy or astrophotography. Under his leadership, the group carries out a substantial number of astronomical observation programs, giving its members practical experience that extends well beyond textbook knowledge. The group has gained a notable presence on the Chinese Internet, where its activities attract attention from a wider audience of enthusiasts. Within the school itself, the group plays an active and visible role in student life, offering an extracurricular pathway for students who might not fit neatly into the school's academically oriented tracks in natural sciences, social sciences, athletics, or fine arts. Gao Xing's guidance connects the group's observational work to the broader institutional resources of the school, including its dedicated Science Buildings and the Astronomy-Music Integrated Building on the newer campus.

A Group Marked by Disruption and Renewal

The astronomy group that Gao Xing now leads has a history shaped by the political upheavals of twentieth-century China. The very first iteration of the group was established in the 1950s, but its activities were interrupted by the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), a period that also devastated the school's library, whose collection of over 40,000 volumes was looted. The current incarnation of the group was formally founded in 1998, and even that version was briefly disbanded in 2002 before being reestablished. Gao Xing's role in sustaining and reviving the group through these disruptions underscores the fragility of such student-led scientific communities in China. Despite these interruptions, the group has managed to accomplish many astronomical observation programs and maintain its popularity both within the school and on the Internet, testifying to the enduring appeal of looking upward from the rooftops of Ürümqi.

Institutional Prestige and Broader Recognition

Gao Xing's work is embedded in one of the most storied educational institutions in western China. The No. 1 Senior High School of Ürümqi, founded in 1891 as the Bo Da Academy of Sinkiang, is the oldest school in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is regarded as the top-ranking high school in both Ürümqi and the autonomous region. The school has produced ten number-one scholar graduates in the national College Entrance Examination, ranking sixth nationally in 2006 and second in 2008 on that metric. In recognition of the school's broader cultural significance, asteroid 546845 Wulumuqiyizhong was named in its honor. The school's 2024 move to a new campus on Kanasihubei Road, funded by an investment exceeding 551 million yuan, includes a dedicated Astronomy-Music Integrated Building, a facility that directly supports the kind of interdisciplinary, observation-based work Gao Xing champions with his students.

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