Scientific spirituality
In recent days, auto manufacturers have indicated that their astronomical interest group discovered an asteroid on 10 february and applied to the international astronomical union (iau) on 22 february to name it with its new car type, star viet. The incident caused concern online and continued fermentation。
In response, zhu jin, director of the beijing planetarium and member of the international astronomical union commission for the nomination of small celestial bodies, stated: “in accordance with the asteroid naming rules, names of a commercial nature are not permitted”. He pointed out that the asteroid “entitled” was likely to be non-existent and that “an application presented by a business would not have academic probative power”。
Information on asteroids is available on the iau minor planet center website, and records cannot be found after downloading provisional numbered data. Zhu jin indicated that if there were no temporary numbers, there would be no right to name。
“even if the provisional number is not checked on a professional website, it is unlikely from the time of discovery.” chu’s explanation is that even if the astronomical group of the car company did discover an asteroid on 10 february, it could not apply for a name on 22 february. There is a requirement for multiple observations prior to the naming of asteroids, the determination of their precise orbit, the acquisition of permanent numbers and the reconciliation of historical data, which generally takes several years to complete。
In recent years, the designation of asteroids has become a new fashion, with the former wang jun kai-sung not officially recognized, followed by the controversial designation of asteroids by hong kong artists. In response to the marketing practice of naming non-existent asteroids with a car model, zhu jin assessed that “this matter is misleading to the public and could be a fraud”。
So how can a non-existent asteroid convince the public
“the background of the picture is the treasure of the town station of lijiang astronomical observatory, a 2. 4-metre telescope.” according to liu boyang, a member of the scientific squirrel association, the photographs in the car poster gave the public a “insinuation” and included scientists such as the head of the yunnan observatory for the astronomical observatory of yunnan, central science institute, and su zhou, director of the yusheng province association of astrophiles, claiming that the asteroid had been discovered at the li gang observatory。
Scientific heavyweights, scientific observations, and the testimony of scholars provide a “scientific endorsement” of this non-existent asteroid. But that is not the case -
Sunshine said that the application to name an asteroid was not known at the time of the photo shoot. Su-soo said to her colleagues that she was temporarily taken to the photo。
“the staff of the observatory have been deceived, but subsequent communication has developed.” “although academic reputation has always been considered to be related only to academic activities such as the publication of papers, research results, etc., it is also required for scientists to be vigilant and capable of discerning when confronted with this `shaming of the name of science'. At the same time, he declared that he reserved the right to be held accountable in accordance with the law。
“the organizers of the event have undertaken to modify or delete all false reports they have issued concerning the yunnan observatory, and to publish an information note and a letter of apology in public.” and su-hyun。
As at the time of the press release, the word “starcow” remained the common name of asteroids and cars. (reporter zhang yoshixing)
Expert assessment
Yip quanji
It is understandable that there are precedents for commercial companies wishing to participate in the scientific research process and at the same time promote their own brands. The u. S. Rick observatory (the world’s first permanent observatory on top of the mountain) was built by the united states’ business giant henrik in 1876, with huge financial contributions, and its name after 150 years. Business companies that set up a science fund to finance scientists’ research would benefit from both scientific progress and publicity。
It was good that businesses were willing to fund the astronomy group's research, but the disclosure of the “asteroid discovery” was unfortunate. The false propaganda of astronomical passion by consuming the public not only does not really contribute to scientific development, but should also be morally condemnable and potentially subject to legal sanctions。
