China’s Tianyu Telescope Ready for Scientific Observations After First Light
- China’s Tianyu Telescope has completed its construction phase and captured more than 1 million stars in a single exposure during its first-light ceremony on Saturday morning, according to...
- Located at the Lenghu Astronomical Observation and Research Base in Northwest China's Qinghai Province, the facility now transitions from commissioning observations to the scientific observation stage.
- The first-light image captured the North America Nebula, the Pelican Nebula, and surrounding stars in the Milky Way, demonstrating the wide-field observation capabilities of the hardware, per the...
China’s Tianyu Telescope has completed its construction phase and captured more than 1 million stars in a single exposure during its first-light ceremony on Saturday morning, according to the Science and Technology Daily.
First-Light Milestone at Lenghu Base
Located at the Lenghu Astronomical Observation and Research Base in Northwest China’s Qinghai Province, the facility now transitions from commissioning observations to the scientific observation stage.
Proving Wide-Field Capabilities
The first-light image captured the North America Nebula, the Pelican Nebula, and surrounding stars in the Milky Way, demonstrating the wide-field observation capabilities of the hardware, per the Science and Technology Daily.
Tianyu operates as China’s first 1-meter-class survey telescope featuring a wide field of view and sub-arcsecond sampling, serving additionally as a precursor instrument for the larger 4-meter-class Jiao-tong University Spectroscopic Telescope (JUST).
Engineering and Technical Scope
Led by the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, construction on the project commenced in 2022, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shanghai Astronomical Observatory taking charge of building the hardware.
The telescope utilizes a 1-meter primary mirror paired with an advanced large-format scientific camera to cover nearly 9 square degrees of sky in a single exposure, an area equivalent to more than 40 full moons.
Details regarding the upcoming tasks were outlined to the Science and Technology Daily by Feng Fabo, the Tianyu project director and an associate professor at the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Targeting Exoplanets and Transients
By observing hundreds of millions of celestial objects continuously for photometric data and following minute shifts in luminosity, Tianyu will search for variable stars, exoplanets, supernovae, and minor bodies within the solar system.
Laying Groundwork for the JUST Project
Both Tianyu and the 4-meter-class JUST telescope under construction share the Lenghu Astronomical Observation and Research Base site and will be operated by the JUST team.
Beyond its primary survey duties, Tianyu will conduct engineering trials for JUST to test observation operations, automatic triggering of transient sources, and multi-target scheduling, according to the Science and Technology Daily.
Following the Saturday first-light ceremony, the facility shifts from remote control to automated observations and stable operations. Project officials expect the telescope to officially begin its full scientific survey operations in October 2026.