China's FAST telescope identified a binary pulsar with an orbital period of 53.3 minutes, the shortest known period for a pulsar binary system.

The research, mainly conducted by a team led by scientists from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), was published in the journal Nature Wednesday.

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

The newly detected binary pulsar is named PSR J1953+1844 (M71E). It belongs to the spider pulsar system with the largest orbiting angular velocity so far.

Lu Jiguang, assistant researcher, at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), said: "In the future, we hope to use FAST to continue to observe the newly detected binary pulsar. We hope to determine many parameters of this pulsar, such as the angle of the spin axis and the direction of the rotation, and know more about the star next to the pulsar."

Located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in Pingtang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, FAST started formal operation in January 2020 and officially opened to the world on March 31, 2021. It is believed to be the world's most sensitive radio telescope.

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.

STORY: China's FAST telescope detects record-breaking binary pulsar
DATELINE: June 23, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:29
LOCATION: GUIYANG, China
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of China's FAST telescope
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): LU JIGUANG, Assistant researcher, National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC)

STORYLINE:

China's FAST telescope identified a binary pulsar with an orbital period of 53.3 minutes, the shortest known period for a pulsar binary system.

The research, mainly conducted by a team led by scientists from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), was published in the journal Nature Wednesday.

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

The newly detected binary pulsar is named PSR J1953+1844 (M71E). It belongs to the spider pulsar system with the largest orbiting angular velocity so far.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): LU JIGUANG, Assistant researcher, National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC)
"In the future, we hope to use FAST to continue to observe the newly detected binary pulsar. We hope to determine many parameters of this pulsar, such as the angle of the spin axis and the direction of the rotation, and know more about the star next to the pulsar."

Located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in Pingtang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, FAST started formal operation in January 2020 and officially opened to the world on March 31, 2021. It is believed to be the world's most sensitive radio telescope.

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.

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