Guizhou FAST discovers 44 pulsars

As the world's most-advanced telescope, Guizhou FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope) has so far discovered 44 pulsars and 54 candidates, 18 of which have been internationally certified.

FAST is located in a karst depression in Buyi and Miao nationality autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province, and started functioning in 2016 after 22 years of construction.

Upgraded last year and equipped with a 19-beam receiver, FAST is revved-up and will generate 20 PB of data per year. The total data amount will reach 200 PB in the next ten years.

To deal with the storage demand and supercomputing ability of FAST, Guizhou is expanding its early-stage mathematical data center and will soon construct another one in Guian new district.

The data center plays an essential part in FAST's achievements. It stores, calculates and screens data feedback and ensures the telescope's digital security.

The intelligent database developed by the center can search data from targeted pulsars, which helped FAST discover the first millisecond pulsar in cooperation with Fermi Gamma-ray satellite of NASA.

Relying on FAST, Guizhou has the initial components of an astronomical scientific research system. It will contribute not only to astronomical discoveries, but also to national security.