Mozi Sky Survey Telescope officially launches and releases images of the Andromeda galaxy

Tech 2023-09-18 12:27:46 Source: Network

Source: Xinhua NetworkThe Mozi Sky Survey Telescope, jointly developed by the University of Science and Technology of China and the Zijinshan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was officially launched on the 17th, and the pictures of the Andromeda galaxy obtained from its first light were also released on the same day. This telescope is currently the equipment with the strongest optical time-domain sky survey capability in the Northern Hemisphere, which will significantly enhance China's time-domain astronomical research capabilities

Source: Xinhua Network

The Mozi Sky Survey Telescope, jointly developed by the University of Science and Technology of China and the Zijinshan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was officially launched on the 17th, and the pictures of the Andromeda galaxy obtained from its first light were also released on the same day. This telescope is currently the equipment with the strongest optical time-domain sky survey capability in the Northern Hemisphere, which will significantly enhance China's time-domain astronomical research capabilities.

Mozi Sky Survey Telescope. (Courtesy of University of Science and Technology of China)

The Mozi Sky Survey Telescope is located at the Saishitengshan Observatory site in Lenghu Town, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, with an altitude of 4200 meters. It is a large field of view optical imaging telescope. The telescope has a main mirror aperture of 2.5 meters and is equipped with a 765 million pixel large target area main focus camera. It has a large light transmission area, low stray light, high detection sensitivity of the system, and strong sky survey ability. It can survey the entire northern celestial sphere once every three nights.

It is reported that the Mozi Sky Survey Telescope can monitor moving and light changing celestial bodies, and is used for efficient search and monitoring of astronomical dynamic events. It can play an important role in fields such as high-energy time-domain astronomy, solar system celestial census, galactic structure, and near-field cosmology.

A picture of the Andromeda galaxy obtained by the first light of the Mozi Sky Survey Telescope. (Courtesy of University of Science and Technology of China)

The Andromeda galaxy is an ideal research object for exploring the formation and evolution of the Milky Way and similar galaxies due to its structural characteristics and metal abundance similar to the Milky Way. Due to the large span of the Andromeda galaxy in the sky, it is difficult for existing astronomical telescopes to simultaneously capture its precise panoramic view and surrounding environment.

The Mozi Sky Survey Telescope combines a large field of view and high-resolution imaging capabilities, with its first beam capturing multicolor images of the Andromeda galaxy and its surrounding areas. The first light image is composed of 150 images observed at different nights, which can measure the brightness changes of celestial bodies in the Andromeda galaxy and its surrounding environment, and conduct time-domain astronomical research.

A distant view of the Mozi Sky Survey Telescope. (Courtesy of University of Science and Technology of China)

It is reported that the Mozi Sky Survey Telescope will also carry out search and monitoring research on near-Earth objects in the solar system, serving space safety and deep space exploration.

Source: Xinhua Network

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