Chinese astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery, identifying 1,300 previously unknown quasars obscured by the dense star fields and dust of the Milky Way's Galactic plane. The feat was achieved using China's Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST), showcasing the facility's unique capability to peer through cosmic 'blind spots.'
Quasars—extremely luminous cores of ancient galaxies powered by supermassive black holes—act as cosmic lighthouses for studying the universe's structure. While over 750,000 quasars are known, few have been detected behind the Milky Way's crowded disk due to obscuring starlight and interstellar dust.
An international team including researchers from China's National Astronomical Observatories and Leiden University analyzed LAMOST data to confirm 1,982 quasars in total, with 1,338 being new discoveries.
"This transforms our ability to map uncharted regions of space," said study leader Wu Xuebing of Peking University.
"These quasars are keys to unlocking secrets of galaxy evolution and interstellar chemistry," added lead researcher Huo Zhiying.
The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, address a critical gap in astronomical surveys. Most large-scale quasar studies avoid the Galactic plane, where foreground stars outshine distant objects. LAMOST's wide-field spectroscopic technology enabled systematic analysis of this challenging zone.
Beyond advancing fundamental research, the newly identified quasars could improve celestial navigation systems and help unify astronomical reference frames. As global interest grows in China's space science capabilities, this discovery underscores the technological strides enabling novel insights into cosmic evolution.
