China's FAST Telescope discovers over 800 pulsars

(ECNS) -- The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, FAST, in south China’s Guizhou Province, has discovered over 800 new pulsars as of Tuesday, according to FAST’s Operations and Development Center.

FAST has achieved notable success this year. Its findings, including the discovery of a binary pulsar with an orbital period of only 53 minutes, the shortest known period for a pulsar binary system, and the key evidence for the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves, contribute to maintaining China’s internationally leading position in low-frequency radio astronomy.

Located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in Southwest China’s Guizhou province, FAST was completed and put into operation on September 25, 2016, and officially opened for operation after passing the national acceptance on January 11, 2020. It is believed to be the largest and most sensitive filled-aperture radio telescope in the world.