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{{short description|Chinese astronomer and scholar}}
{{Infobox person
| name             = Wang Sichao{{br}}王思潮
| image            = File:Wang Sichao.jpg
| image_size       =
| caption          = Undated photo of Wang Sichao
| birth_date       = 1937
| birth_place      = [[Rong County, Guangxi|Rong County]], [[Guangxi]], China
| death_date       = {{Death date and given age|2016|06|17|77|df=yes}}
| death_place      = [[Nanjing]], China
| alma_mater       = [[Peking University]]
| occupation       = Astronomer
| years_active     = 1963–2016
| module               = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes
| c = 王思潮
| j = {{tone superscript|Wong4 Si1 Ciu4}}
| p = Wáng Sī Cháo
}}
}}
'''Wang Sichao''' ({{zh|c=王思潮}}; 1937 – 17 June 2016) was a Chinese [[astronomer]] and scholar.<ref name="Yan2006-08-25">{{cite news |editor-last=Yan |editor-first=Yangtze |date=2006-08-25 |title=Pluto's demotion stirs mixed feelings |url=http://news3.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-08/25/content_5007596.htm |agency=[[Xinhua News Agency]] |accessdate=2007-04-18 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523103317/http://news3.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-08/25/content_5007596.htm |archivedate=2009-05-23 }}</ref> Between 1963 and 1999, he was a researcher at the [[Purple Mountain Observatory]] in [[Nanjing]]. Wang researched [[asteroid]]s, [[meteor]]s, [[comet]]s, and [[unidentified flying object]]s.

==Early life and education==
Wang was born in 1937 in [[Rong County, Guangxi|Rong County]] in [[Guangxi]].<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19">{{cite news |author1=朱晓颖 |author2=盛捷 |author3=王苏毅 |date=2016-06-19 |title=各界悼念中国近地天体探测碰撞天文研究最早推动者王思潮 |trans-title=All walks of life mourn Wang Sichao, the earliest promoter of China's NEO detection and collision astronomy research |language=zh |url=http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2016/06-19/7909293.shtml |agency=[[China News Service]] |accessdate=2021-10-31 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031102528/http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2016/06-19/7909293.shtml |archivedate=2021-10-31 }}</ref><ref name="龚菲2016-06-17">{{cite news |author=龚菲 |date=2016-06-17 |title=中科院紫金山天文台研究员、UFO研究专家王思潮逝世 |trans-title=Wang Sichao, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a UFO research expert, dies |language=zh |url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1485270 |newspaper=[[The Paper (newspaper)|The Paper]] |accessdate=2021-10-31 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031102533/https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1485270 |archivedate=2021-10-31 }}</ref> His ancestral hometown is in [[Guangzhou]] in [[Guangdong]].<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> In his youth, he attended the primary and secondary schools affiliated with [[Sun Yat-sen University]] as well as the secondary school affiliated with [[South China Normal University]].<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> Wang attended the [[Peking University]] where he received an [[astrophysics]] degree from the Department of Geophysics.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/><ref name="龚菲2016-06-17"/>

==Career==
Upon graduation, in 1963 Wang joined the [[Purple Mountain Observatory]] as a research intern.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> He was promoted to an assistant research position, an associate researcher position, and then a researcher position.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> He retired in 1999 from the observatory.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> As the first promoter in China of conducting studies of [[Near-Earth object]]s and [[asteroid impact avoidance]], Wang was a pioneer of Chinese meteorology research.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/>

Alongside [[Ouyang Ziyuan]] in 1976, Wang did in-depth studies of [[meteor shower]]s that happened in [[Jilin]].<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/><ref name="China2013-02-22">{{cite news |date=2013-02-22 |title=【中国科学报】王思潮：50年捉一场迷藏 |trans-title=[China Science Daily] Wang Sichao: 50 years of hide and seek |language=zh |url=https://www.cas.cn/xw/cmsm/201302/t20130222_3764784.shtml |newspaper={{ill|China Science Daily|zh|中国科学报}} |publisher=[[Chinese Academy of Sciences]] |accessdate=2021-10-31 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031102553/https://www.cas.cn/xw/cmsm/201302/t20130222_3764784.shtml |archivedate=2021-10-31 }}</ref> [[China News Service]] said Wang's research "achieved important results".<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> To conduct research where a meteor hit in [[Ningqiang County]], he visited the [[Qin Mountains]] to retrieve samples.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> Wang researched the falling ice in [[Wuxi]].<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> Wang conducted research on [[comet]]s for China.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> In addition to studying [[Comet Hale–Bopp]], he travelled to Australia with the astronomer [[Zhang Jiaxiang]] during [[Halley's Comet]]'s 1986 apparition to collect information about it.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> His research team correctly foresaw when a comet would collide in 1994.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> Wang helped design and make a [[Near-Earth object]] telescope in [[Xuyi County]].<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/>

Wang began investigating [[unidentified flying object]]s (UFOs) in 1971.<ref name="龚菲2016-06-17"/> Wang believed that [[extraterrestrial life]] exists, possesses anti-gravity technology and is benevolent, stating this during interviews with the media such as [[China Central Television]].<ref name="Wang2010-08-23">{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Qianyuanxue |date=2010-08-23 |title=Academician: Aliens exist, but also have weaknesses |url=http://en.people.cn/90001/90782/7114409.html |newspaper=[[People's Daily]] |accessdate=2021-10-31 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031103628/http://en.people.cn/90001/90782/7114409.html |archivedate=2021-10-31 }}</ref> On one occasion, the popular science writer [[Fang Zhouzi]] stated that Wang had not provided proof for his claims.<ref name="王曦煜2010-07-26">{{cite news |author=王曦煜 |date=2010-07-26 |title=天文学家王思潮:39年追踪UFO 坚信外星人的存在 |trans-title=Astronomer Wang Sichao: Tracking UFOs for 39 years and firmly believes in the existence of extraterrestrial life |language=zh |url=https://www.chinanews.com/cul/2010/07-26/2424164.shtml |newspaper=[[Qianjiang Evening News]] |via=[[China News Service]] |accessdate=2021-10-31 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031102555/https://www.chinanews.com/cul/2010/07-26/2424164.shtml |archivedate=2021-10-31 }}</ref> Through email, Wang reached out to people in China who had seen UFOs to work with them to investigate the UFOs.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/>

China News Service called him "a well-known [[astronomy education]] expert in China".<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> He taught about [[planetary science]], [[Small Solar System bodies]], [[meteorites]], and the search for [[extraterrestrial life]].<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> He wrote [[popular science]] books and frequently appeared on television shows.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> During the Internet era, he started [[Sina Weibo]] and [[WeChat]] accounts through which he shared information about astronomy.<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/>

==Personal life and death==
To fund his child's or children's overseas education, Wang borrowed 300,000 yuan (US${{Formatnum:{{To USD|300000|CHN|year=2013}}}}).<ref name="China2013-02-22"/> He put on pause the self-funded Big Dipper Observation Award ({{zh|s=北斗星观测奖}}), which he had created in 2007 to raise awareness of UFOs, so that he could repay the education loan.<ref name="China2013-02-22"/>

Wang died on 17 June 2016 in [[Nanjing]] at the age of 77 after a [[cerebral haemorrhage]].<ref name="朱晓颖2016-06-19"/> His funeral was held on 19 June at the Nanjing Funeral Parlor in the Xitian Temple ({{zh|c=西天寺}}).<ref name="龚菲2016-06-17"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{UFOs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Sichao}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Chinese astronomers]]
[[Category:21st-century Chinese astronomers]]
[[Category:Peking University alumni]]
[[Category:Physicists from Guangxi]]
[[Category:Purple Mountain Observatory]]
[[Category:UFO writers]]