The 'Chinese Eye' has achieved a new milestone - detecting 500 new pulsars!
Recently, the 500 meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope FAST located in China achieved a new milestone by discovering 500 new pulsars. It is precisely because of its powerful detection capability that it is also known as the "FAST"; The Chinese Eye of Heaven;.
The 500m Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope FAST is located in Pingtang County, Guizhou Province
Pulsars, also known as rapidly rotating neutron stars, originate from the cores of massive dead stars that undergo supernova explosions. Due to their high density and rapid rotation, they are ideal laboratories for studying physical laws in extreme environments.
One milestone after another
Using FAST, scientists also detected 1652 independent bursts from a repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source codenamed FRB121102, the largest set of FRBs ever detected, which helps clarify the origin of these mysterious signals from deep space.
FAST is considered the most sensitive radio telescope in the world, with a sensitivity 10 times that of the 100 meter radio telescope in Germany's Eifelsberg. Technically, FAST can detect signals from 13.7 billion light-years away, almost at the edge of the universe. Since its official opening to the world in March this year, it has received over 200 observation applications from 16 countries.
Source: NASAITACHI