Zhou Youyuan, an astrophysicist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, passed away in Beijing on March 12 at the age of 82.

Zhou made outstanding contributions to research in the fields of active galaxies, nuclear and cosmology, and large-scale structures of the universe. He was one of the earliest scholars in China to conduct such research and create a corresponding research group.

In 2018, the Small Celestial Body Nomenclature Committee of the International Astronomical Union approved the asteroid coded 120730 to be named Asteroid Zhouyouyuan. Asteroids are the only celestial bodies that can be named by their discoverers subject to rules.

Zhou was engaged in education, with more than 50 years of teaching experience in Chinese universities. He was also a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory.