China has a brand new wide-field telescope up and running.
The Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST), which measures 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) in diameter and is situated within the mountains of northwest China’s Qinghai province, entered into operation on Sunday (Sept. 17). And for its debut image release, the ability delivered a surprising wide-field, high resolution portrait of our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda.
WFST was jointly developed by the University of Science and Technology of China and the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The telescope is now the biggest time-domain survey facility within the Northern Hemisphere, based on the CAS. It features 9k x 9k mosaic CCD (charge-coupled device) detectors, meaning it has a resolution of 9,000 pixels in each horizontal and vertical axes, allowing it to capture exceptionally detailed astronomical images.
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WFST will monitor specific areas of the sky over a period of time with the aim of picking out transient astronomical events akin to supernovas, tidal disruption events and multi-messenger events. Additionally it is nicknamed Mozi, or Micius, after an ancient Chinese philosopher who engaged in early optical experiments.
WFST marks a giant step forward for Chinese astronomy. It’ll greatly improve China’s near-Earth object monitoring and early warning capabilities, said Kong Xu, the project’s chief designer on the University of Science and Technology of China, CCTV+ reported.
“Its lens barrel is comparatively long, which reduces stray light,” said Zheng Xianzhong, a researcher at PMO. “Its primary camera has a smaller light-blocking area, leading to higher sensitivity in comparison with telescopes of the identical aperture.”
Zheng added that the telescope marked a breakthrough in domestic innovation and is comparable to probably the most advanced international remark equipment.
Construction of WFST began in July 2019 near Lenghu Town on a plateau with a median elevation of 13,120 ft. (4,000 meters) above sea level. The location offers clear night skies, stable atmospheric conditions, dry climate, and low artificial light pollution, based on CCTV+.