A photo taken by Liu Xinyu. [Photo/Jilin Daily]

Thirty-five-year-old amateur photographer Liu Xinyu in Changchun, Jilin province, has spent most of his spare time since 2017 taking pictures of the heavens.

Last year, he and seven other astronomy enthusiasts established the Changchun Astronomical Association and began an effort to popularize astronomy, including organizing various activities on school campuses and in residential communities.

He has appreciated the stars since childhood.

"It is my most wonderful memory childhood that some friends and I counted the stars and imagined the appearance of distant planets," he said. "When I found some stunning images on the internet in 2017, I was hooked on them immediately."

He sought more information about the photos and learned that they were taken by connecting a camera to a telescope. That's what he spent his savings on, as he began to search around Changchun for suitable places dark enough to take good photos skyward.

A photo taken by Liu Xinyu. [Photo/Jilin Daily]

He chose Heyuan town in Yitong county first, and he fell in love with the hobby immediately.

Of all the photos he has taken, his favorite is a stunning image of the Rosette Nebula, a cloud of interstellar dust and gas located about 5,000 light-years away in the constellation of Monoceros.

"The Rosette Nebula can only be shot in winter with more than 20 hours of continuous exposure," Liu said. "I couldn't stop shivering even in three cotton-padded coats when I took the photos in the wild during an extremely cold winter. But when I got the final images, I felt everything was worthwhile."

The Changchun Astronomical Association, was officially established in 2020 and has attracted more than 50 members.

Liu and his associates established an astronomical observation point in Yitong, providing a platform for the public to learn.

"For most children in cities, the terms of astronomy only exist in their textbooks," he said. "I hope to build more astronomical observation points in our city in the future, and then the children can explore the mysteries of the universe through telescopes at night."

Liu Xinyu takes astronomy photos. [Photo/Jilin Daily]

A photo taken by Liu Xinyu. [Photo/Jilin Daily]