China on Sunday inaugurated its new Wide-Field Astronomical Telescope (WFST), the largest of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere, which has already provided an image of the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy.
The telescope, located at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Qinghai province, is supervised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is the most powerful of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Jointly developed by the University of Science and Technology of China and the observatory since 2019, the WFST covers the entire northern hemisphere of the sky, which will benefit astronomical research and monitoring of near-Earth space.
The Mozi Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) has started debugging in Lenghu, Qinghai in northwest China. With a primary mirror with a diameter of 2.5 m, it is the largest space telescope in the Northern Hemisphere and will be officially commissioned in mid-September. #telescope #Space Research pic.twitter.com/FsKiiBuTT4
– China Science (@ChinaScience) September 4, 2023
This telescope has a diameter of 2.5 meters and is located in Lenghu village, at an average altitude of 4,200 meters. This location is known as China’s “Camp Mars” because of its desert landscape that resembles the surface of the red planet.
One of the highlights of WFST is its ability to capture precise images of distant galaxies, such as the image captured of the Andromeda Galaxy, which is more than 2 million light-years away.
The large field of view and high resolution make it possible to photograph galaxies that are difficult to observe with other telescopes.
China’s Mozi Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) has released a high-resolution image of #AndromedaGalaxy on Sunday, the first day of its launch, setting a new world record for the largest field of view of the Milky Way. WFST is the largest space survey #telescope in the N. hemisphere. pic.twitter.com/IUcqX6uWaq
– People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) September 17, 2023
This telescope will also assist in monitoring dynamic astronomical events and time domain astronomical observation research.
The device will also improve China’s ability to monitor near-Earth objects and provide early warnings.
This new type of telescope takes pictures of the universe with greater width and depth, using a method that reflects light between multiple mirrors before capturing the image in a giant camera.
The Lenghu area, which will be the largest astronomical observation base in Asia when completed, began construction in 2017 and is already home to twelve telescopes.
In total, more than 30 telescopes will be installed on Mount Saishiteng, including the 6.5-meter MUST (multiplexed survey telescope) and the EAST (extended aperture segmented telescope), which is also 6.5 meters long.
The city, with a total area of 17,800 square kilometers, is located 944 kilometers from the capital of Qinghai province, Xining.
In recent years, China’s space program has achieved several successes, such as landing the Chang’e 4 probe on the far side of the moon — an unprecedented feat — and placing a probe on Mars, completing the became the third country – after the United States and the former Soviet Union – to do so.
China also completed a permanent space station last year, the culmination of more than a decade of efforts to maintain a constant crew presence in orbit.
Source: DN
