Famous on social media for his passion for astronomy, this young boy from China is an inspiration to his peers.
Yan Hongsen, a 9-year-old boy from Shaoxing city in Zhejiang province, gained fame on the Chinese Internet after pointing out an error in a documentary film shown at an observatory. He was recently invited to give a lecture on space science to his classmates during the school opening ceremony, CCTV reported.
“This school year, I want to teach astronomy to my friends and learn new things on my own,” said the boy, affectionately nicknamed “the boy of fire” in an interview.
Yan Hongsen developed an interest in astronomy at the age of 4. (Photo: SCMP).
Lao Chunyan, Yan’s Chinese language teacher, mentioned that thanks to Yan, other students have also started sharing their hobbies and interests outside of school. “The kids inspire each other a lot. Whenever there’s a question, the students always turn to Hongsen,” she said.
Yan has been passionate about astronomy since he was just 4 years old, after attending a satellite launch of the VRSS-2 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region with his family. To support their son’s passion, Yan’s parents bought many astronomy books, took him to various museums, and transformed their living room into an observation station.
The elementary school student has visited 22 observatories and science museums across China, created his own rocket models, and filmed short lectures for astronomy enthusiasts through the video-sharing app Douyin. Yan’s channel currently has over 214,000 followers.
Yan confidently shares astronomical knowledge with his classmates. (Photo: SCMP).
In July, Yan’s father posted a video on social media showing him frustrated as he pointed out that the Long March 3 rocket had been incorrectly referred to as the Long March 5 in a documentary screened for tourists at an observatory in Lhasa, Tibet.
After the video quickly went viral and garnered much attention, Yan shared, “I am increasingly determined to pursue my dream of creating my own rocket.”
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