China's FAST telescope discovers over 1,000 pulsars
(ECNS) -- China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) has discovered more than 1,000 pulsars so far, the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) announced on Tuesday.
The discoveries include numerous millisecond pulsars and pulsar binaries, exceeding the total number of pulsars identified by all other international telescopes during the same period.
The first pulsar was discovered by FAST in 2017.
According to Zhu Weiwei, chief scientist at the FAST Operation and Development Center, FAST’s high sensitivity has enriched the variety and number of pulsars, offering valuable insights into their formation and evolution.
Pulsars are neutron stars with strong magnetic fields that rotate and emit beams of electromagnetic radiation. Scientists often study them to explore the fundamental physics of the universe.
Located in a natural karst depression in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, the telescope, also known as “China Sky eye”, spans an area equivalent to 30 standard football fields. It began operation in January 2020 and was officially opened to the global scientific community in March 2021.
The NAOC plans to enhance FAST’s sensitivity and spatial resolution by adding auxiliary antennas around the telescope.