📩 19/09/2023 11:55
The WFST telescope, which has a wide field of view and is capable of observing the entire sky from the northern hemisphere, became operational as of Sunday, September 17. The telescope is located at an altitude of 4 meters in Lenghu, China, which is called "Mars Camp" because it is located in a desert land similar to the surface of Mars.
The WFST telescope, with a diameter of 2,5 meters, is currently the largest facility in the northern hemisphere in terms of temporal measurement. It takes its name from the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi or Micius, who performed historical optical experiments. WFST (Wide Field Survey Telescope), a wide-angle observation telescope developed by the University of Science and Technology of China and an observatory affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is currently the largest facility in the field of temporal measurement in the northern hemisphere.
This wide-field telescope, which can observe the entire sky from the northern hemisphere, sent the first images of the Andromeda Galaxy, more than two million light years away, immediately after it became operational.
Current astronomical telescopes cannot simultaneously capture a detailed panorama of the Andromeda Galaxy and its surroundings, which covers a very large area of the sky, and take an image of the whole. In this sense, the WFST telescope can take and send color photographs of the Andromeda Galaxy and its surroundings by combining wide-field vision and clear photographing ability.
WFST, which can scan the entire sky of the northern hemisphere every three nights, will provide scientists with the opportunity to dynamically observe astronomical events and examine astronomical observations temporally. On the other hand, it will be useful to monitor the developments in the world's immediate surroundings and will increase China's early warning capacity.