According to information from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), also known as "China's Sky Eye," has discovered over 900 new pulsars to date. Of these, more than 650 were identified through the Galactic Plane Pulsar Survey, one of FAST's key projects. The discoveries include at least 120 binary pulsars, 170 millisecond pulsars, and 80 faint sporadic pulsars, significantly expanding the limits of human observation of the universe.
It is reported that in the 50 years from the discovery of the first pulsar by humans in 1967 to the discovery of the first pulsar by FAST in October 2017, a total of just over 3,000 pulsars had been discovered worldwide. The number of pulsars discovered by the "Chinese Sky Eye" is more than three times that discovered by other telescopes worldwide during the same period. Furthermore, the "Chinese Sky Eye" has expanded the observational range of the radiation intensity of pulsars for humanity. Among the more than 900 new pulsars discovered, the majority are faint pulsars that are difficult to detect with other telescopes around the world.
Experts have reported the discovery of nearly a hundred faint, intermittent pulsars, which emit radiation flux densities an order of magnitude lower than typical pulsars. Research on these intermittent pulsars is crucial for understanding how many dense neutron star remnants are formed from the deaths of stars in the Milky Way and for revealing unknown processes of pulsar radiation.
Currently, the FAST telescope maintains approximately 5,300 hours of observation time annually, providing significant support for the continuous production of scientific research.
(Original Title: Expanding the Limits of Observing the Universe! China's Sky Eye Has Discovered Over 900 New Pulsars)
