China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, has made a groundbreaking achievement by identifying more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016.
Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars that emit beams of electromagnetic radiation. They originate from the imploded cores of massive dying stars through supernova explosions, and their study offers invaluable insights into the extreme states of matter and the behavior of fundamental physical laws under such conditions.
According to Han Jinlin, a scientist with the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), the newly discovered pulsars include over 120 binary pulsars, more than 170 millisecond pulsars, and 80 faint and intermittent pulsars. “The study has important implications for understanding the dense remnants of dead stars in the Milky Way and their radiation characteristics,” Han stated.
Over the past five decades since the discovery of the first pulsar, less than 3,000 pulsars had been found worldwide. The number of new pulsars discovered by FAST is more than three times the total number found by foreign telescopes during the same period, highlighting China’s significant contribution to the field of astrophysics.
Pulsar observation is a crucial mission for FAST, as it can be used to confirm the existence of gravitational radiation and black holes, and help address many other fundamental questions in physics. Jiang Peng, chief engineer of FAST, emphasized that all staff members are making every effort to enhance the performance of the telescope. Currently, the annual observation time of the telescope is about 5,300 hours, playing an essential role in the continuous output of scientific research achievements.
Located in a deep and round karst depression in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, FAST began formal operation in January 2020. It is considered the world’s most sensitive radio telescope, and its recent discoveries are expected to propel further advancements in our understanding of the universe.
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China's gigantic telescope detects over 900 new pulsars since launch
cgtn.com
