China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) has identified over 740 pulsars since its launch.
The research team indicated that pulsar observation is an important task for FAST, which can be used to confirm the existence of gravitational radiation and black holes, and help solve many other major questions in physics, explaining that pulsars, or fast-spinning neutron stars, originate from the imploded cores of massive dying stars through supernova explosions.
Chief Engineer of the telescope Jiang Peng said that the annual observation duration of FAST has exceeded 5,300 hours since it was completed in September 2016, with 30 to 40 terabytes of data received every day, noting that more than 740 pulsars have been discovered so far.
More pulsar discoveries by FAST could help scientists find evidence of gravitational waves, or establish autonomously controlled time reference systems, Jiang added.
It is noteworthy that FAST, which is the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, is located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in the southwestern province of Guizhou. It was officially activated on Jan 11, 2020, with a reception area equal to 30 standard football fields.
