BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.

BEIDOU SATELLITE LAUNCH

China on Wednesday sent a new BeiDou navigation satellite into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

The satellite was launched at 10:49 a.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It will be connected to the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System after it enters orbit and completes in-orbit tests.

The satellite, designed to enter the geostationary earth orbit, is the 56th of the BeiDou family and also the first backup satellite for the country’s BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System.

MILKY WAY SPIRAL STRUCTURE

Chinese astronomers have recently transformed our understanding of the spiral structure of the Milky Way. They determined that it is more like a common multiple-arm galaxy, rather than a special galaxy with four spiral arms extending from its inner parts to its outer parts.

Astronomers from the Purple Mountain Observatory and the National Astronomical Observatories, both institutions under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, used all available high-precision astrometric data to trace and identify the spiral arms of the Milky Way.

The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, shows that the Milky Way is a multiple-arm galaxy that has two-arm symmetry — the Perseus and Norma Arms — in its inner parts, which extend to outer parts and split into several long, irregular arms.

GREATER BAY AREA SCIENCE FORUM

The 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Science Forum will be held from May 20 to 23 in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province, according to Wednesday’s China Science Daily.

This year’s forum is initiated by the Alliance of International Science Organizations and will be hosted by the Guangdong provincial government.

There will be a total of 15 sub-forums, according to the report, with focus on marine science, nanoscience, high-energy physics, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence.