China’s FAST telescope maps neutral hydrogen, the cosmic gas for making stars
China's FAST telescope has released a massive new dataset of neutral hydrogen, mapping over 150,000 extragalactic sources. This survey significantly expands upon previous data from the Arecibo Telescope, providing astronomers with a new reference for studying galaxy formation.
Why it matters
The data provides a critical bridge for understanding the cosmic web and galaxy evolution, serving as a foundational resource for future international radio astronomy projects.
China’s FAST telescope has compiled the world’s largest catalogue of neutral hydrogen beyond the Milky Way, replacing a long-dominant US survey as the main reference for mapping the gas that fuels the formation of stars and galaxies.
The FAST All-Sky H I Survey (FASHI), conducted with the 500-metre (1,640-foot) radio dish in southwest China’s Guizhou province, released its second batch of data this week. It contains 156,411 extragalactic sources – nearly five times the number detected by the now-defunct Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico.
The publicly available data gives astronomers worldwide an unprecedented pool of galaxies to investigate some of the universe’s biggest questions – from how the vast cosmic web took shape, to why some galaxies thrive while others fade away.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in