China's gigantic telescope detects over 900 new pulsars-Xinhua

This photo taken on Feb. 26, 2024 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

GUIYANG, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday.

Pulsars, or fast-spinning neutron stars, originate from the imploded cores of massive dying stars through supernova explosions.

Han Jinlin, a scientist with the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), said that the pulsars included over 120 binary pulsars, more than 170 millisecond pulsars, and 80 faint and intermittent pulsars.

Han added that over the past 50-plus years since the discovery of the first pulsar, less than 3,000 pulsars were discovered worldwide, and the number of new pulsars discovered by FAST is more than three times the total number of pulsars found by foreign telescopes during the same period.

"The study has important implications for understanding the dense remnants of dead stars in the Milky Way and their radiation characteristics," Han said.

Pulsar observation is an important task for FAST, which can be used to confirm the existence of gravitational radiation and black holes, and help find answers to many other major questions in physics.

Jiang Peng, chief engineer of the FAST, said that all staff members make every effort to improve the performance of the telescope. At present, the annual observation time of the telescope is about 5,300 hours, and it plays an important role in the continuous output of scientific research achievements.

Located in a deep and round karst depression in southwest China's Guizhou Province, FAST started formal operation in January 2020. It is believed to be the world's most sensitive radio telescope. ■

A drone photo taken on Feb. 26, 2024 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

This photo taken on Feb. 27, 2024 shows workers maintaining China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

This photo taken on Feb. 26, 2024 with physical filter shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

A drone photo taken on Feb. 28, 2024 shows the feed cabin of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

This photo taken on Feb. 27, 2024 shows an interior view of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

A drone photo taken on Feb. 27, 2024 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

A drone photo taken on Feb. 27, 2024 shows part of the China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

A drone panoramic photo taken on Feb. 26, 2024 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

A drone panoramic photo taken on Feb. 28, 2024 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

A drone panoramic photo taken on Feb. 27, 2024 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

This photo taken on Feb. 26, 2024 with physical filter shows the feed cabin of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

This photo taken on Feb. 27, 2024 with infrared camera shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) under maintenance in southwest China's Guizhou Province. China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), also dubbed the "China Sky Eye," has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, according to the FAST Operation and Development Center of the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Liu Xu, Lu Yuhan)