Wei Chuanyu, a student at Nanjing No. 1 Middle School in East China's Jiangsu province, won the gold medal and the Best Observation Award at the XXII International Astronomy Olympiad, which concluded on Nov 4.
Fifty-eight students from 15 countries participated in the competition.
Wei said that naked eye observation needs to estimate the moon's horizon, a star's angular distance, and the constellation, as well as the distance between two stars with the help of your palms.
"Telescope observation is to find two stars, estimate the brightness difference and distance, and I also have to draw," Wei said.
Wei said that sometimes he goes to the observation station at the Purple Mountain Observatory and he often observes the sky from the rooftop at home. He attributes his success to persistent practice.
