Zexi Xing | 邢泽曦

PhD student @ astrophysics

The University of Hong Kong

Hi!

I am a Ph.D. student in the department of physics at the University of Hong Kong. My home is in Bazhou city, Hebei province in Mainland China. I have a general interest in nature, especially astronomy, and currently focus my research on Ultraviolet and X-ray observations of comets and asteroids. Explorations of small bodies’ activities and history are always challenging but intriguing. Space observatories, especially the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, are my great friends. In 2018 I got my B.Sc. in astronomy from Nanjing University, where many plane trees and cats live happily.

In addition to research, I have extremely broad interests. I enjoy collecting from nature, photography, and anime. I love sports, though I am not good at any one. I am learning electric guitar, and my guitar’s name is Fri (/fraɪ/). Finally, I love physics lurking behind everyday. The big world fascinates me.

My Chinese name is 邢泽曦 (Xing Ze-Xi), where '邢' (Xing) is my family name; '泽' (Ze) is my generation name, meaning water and grace; I was born at 6am, thus I was given '曦' (Xi), which means the Sun in the early morning. It is a little hard to pronounce, and feel easy to call me Lucy!

Education

PhD student, 2018 - today

The University of Hong Kong
Visiting student, 2019 - 2020

Auburn University
B.Sc. in Astronomy, 2014 - 2018

Nanjing University
REU student, 2017

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Latest research

[update time: 2021-Oct-22]

UV observations of comets

To be updated.

2I/Borisov H2O 2I/Borisov CO

UV spectra of asteroids

Because of atmosphere’s absorption, Ultraviolet (UV) radiation must be observed from space, which is much harder than ground observations. Because of this, we still knows quite little about UV spectrum of asteroids, which are usually classified according to their optical/IR spectra. Fortunately, Swift uniquely has the UV capability and time to measure UV spectra of ~20 asteroids. Will their types keep the same in UV? Will there be some new trends? How will the results affect the understanding of the solar system? We are extracting the spectra, let’s look forward to the results!

Solar Wind Charge Exchange (SWCX) of comets

How can we measure solar wind in high ecliptic latitudes? It is very hard to send a satellite there, and speculation is also difficult because solar wind changes rapidly during propagation. Here come comets! Comets can reach there! The interaction SWCX between comets and solar wind can tell us a lot about solar wind, comets’ coma, and even atomic physics. HKU has a great opportunity to launch a satellite to observe SWCX in EUV band. I analysed SWCX for 5 comets in X-ray band and predicted EUV spectra for the satellite design.

Undergrad. Thesis 46p

Recent Publications

Welcome to browse my Google Scholar profile, my ORCID profile, and/or my ADS Library.

[update time: 2021-Nov-12]

Quickly discover relevant content by filtering publications.

Variable X-Ray Emission of Comet 46P/Wirtanen

[2021-11-10]

Emanuele Bonamente, Damian J. Christian, Zexi Xing | 邢泽曦, Kumar Venkataramani, Dimitra Koutroumpa, Dennis Bodewits

DOI

Water production rates and activity of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov

[2020-04-27] We made first unambiguous detection of OH lines for 2I/Borisov, and successfully measured its water production rates, which provide a key context for abundance measurements of other molecules.

Zexi Xing | 邢泽曦, Dennis Bodewits, John W. Noonan, Michele T. Bannister

DOI ads Nasa Media Press poster video

The carbon monoxide-rich interstellar comet 2I/Borisov

[2020-04-20] We found 2I/Borisov’s CO is much more abundant than all our own comets in inner solar system, which indicates its origin.

Dennis Bodewits, John W. Noonan, Paul D. Feldman, Michele T. Bannister, Davide Farnocchia, Walt M. Harris, Jian-Yang Li, Kathleen E. Mandt, Joel Wm. Parker, Zexi Xing | 邢泽曦

DOI ads Behind the Paper Nasa Media Press

Professional Activities

talks, telegrams, outreaches, etc.

[update time: 2021-Oct-22]

Talk - DPS2021 - [101.05D] Ultraviolet spectral reflectance of asteroids

Oct 4, 2021 1:00 PM — 1:25 PM Online, contributed talk

Talk - Chinese Planetary Science Conference 2021 - Activities and origins of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov

Jun 19, 2021 5:45 PM — 6:00 PM Suzhou, China, contributed talk

Talk - SEGSA 2021 - Ultraviolet spectral reflectance of 16 asteroids by Swift

Apr 1, 2021 10:20 AM — 10:40 AM Online, contributed talk

Talk - DPS2020 - [313.03] Water Production Rates and Activity of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Oct 28, 2020 3:30 PM — 4:00 PM Online, contributed talk

Talk - EPSC2020 - [993, marked as Media Interest] Activities and origins of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov

Sep 22, 2020 10:40 AM — 11:20 AM Online, contributed talk

News & Press

[update time: 2020-May-09]

Others

In free time, I love collecting seeds, ecdyses, feathers, fallen flowers and leaves, and other natural products. Once I find something interesting, I would timely take it home, “identify-dry-label-save” it, and then register it in my index (in Chinese). When I was lucky enough to find an insect just dead, I would make an insect specimen.
Number of observed wild bird species: 70 (click to see the list).
I also take pictures to “collet” creeping caterpillar, twinkling stars, passing strangers, and more touching moments. Here are some pictures taken by me. Welcome to browse more at 500px website :D

[update time: 2021-Nov-12]