STORY: China's gigantic telescope detects over 900 new pulsars
SHOOTING TIME: recent footages
DATELINE: April 17, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:11
LOCATION: GUIYANG, China
CATEGORY: SCIENCE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): HAN JINLIN, Scientist with the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC)
3. various of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): JIANG PENG, Chief engineer of the FAST

STORYLINE:

China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified more than 900 new pulsars since its launch in 2016, its operator said Wednesday.

Pulsars, or fast-spinning neutron stars, originate from the imploded cores of massive dying stars through supernova explosions.

Pulsar observation is an important task for FAST, which can be used to confirm the existence of gravitational radiation and black holes, and help find answers to many other major questions in physics.

Han Jinlin, a scientist with the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), said that the pulsars included over 120 binary pulsars, more than 170 millisecond pulsars, and 80 faint and intermittent pulsars.

Han added that over the past 50-plus years since the discovery of the first pulsar, less than 3,000 pulsars were discovered worldwide, and the number of new pulsars discovered by FAST is more than three times the total number of pulsars found by foreign telescopes during the same period.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): HAN JINLIN, Scientist with the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC)
"So far, after several years of hard work, the FAST has discovered more than 900 pulsars. These pulsars are not only an increase in number, but a real breakthrough in science. Among the over 900 pulsars, many are flashing pulsars that occasionally pulse. These pulsars cannot be captured without sensitive FAST."

At present, the annual observation time of the telescope is about 5,300 hours, increasing the possibility of important scientific discovery.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): JIANG PENG, Chief engineer of the FAST
"The FAST is the most efficient pulsar discovering telescope. It gives us a very important opportunity to discover some strange pulsars, the preconditions for important science."

Located in a deep and round karst depression in southwest China's Guizhou Province, FAST started formal operation in January 2020. It is believed to be the world's most sensitive radio telescope.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Guiyang, China.
(XHTV)