Under the clouds for a night of wonder and amazement
For the information day on 21 October, the Faculty of Science hosted an extra-long day of activities for the general public. Besides offering the usual array of admission talks, programme introductions, laboratory visits, public science lectures, and Q&A sessions for prospective students and their teachers and parents, to mark the 60th anniversary of the University and the Faculty, it curated a special evening programme Under the Stars—A Night at CUHK Science to bring scientific knowledge to the public.
Alas, even scientists cannot control the weather, hence the highly anticipated stargazing session of the programme was cancelled due to cloudy conditions that night. Nevertheless, the 250-some audience members enjoyed a guided viewing of an astronomy video exploring the origins of the universe led by Professor Chu Ming-chung of Department of Physics. Quite a number of astronomy enthusiasts joined the event, some as young as early primary school students, who posed some excellent questions.
Throughout the evening, one key message was heard multiple times: sometimes it takes many decades if not longer for scientists to finally develop sufficiently sensitive or pertinent tools to measure what had long been hypothesised to exist. However, what is most important is to remain curious and committed to the advancement of knowledge.
