China's FAST telescope discovers over 1,300 pulsars in decade of operation

GUIYANG: China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) has identified more than 1,300 pulsars over the past decade, outnumbering the total pulsar discoveries made by all other international telescopes over the same period, according to an academic conference that opened on Wednesday.

Set to mark its 10th anniversary on Friday, FAST has driven a historic leap for China's radio astronomy over the past decade. Boasting enhanced observational capabilities, the telescope, located in southwest China's Guizhou Province, has continuously expanded humanity's understanding of the universe.

"Ten years of dedicated work has secured China's leading position in global radio astronomy," said FAST chief engineer Jiang Peng, also deputy director of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.