国内英语资讯:Spotlight: From theory prediction to bold observatory, Chinese researchers help usher in new_时事

国内英语资讯:Spotlight: From theory prediction to bold observatory, Chinese researchers help usher in new

China built its first Antarctic expedition station -- Kunlun Station -- in 2009, about 7.3 km from Dome A, and has sent astronomers to the region every year since 2007 to build an astronomical observatory on Dome A, the highest location in Antarctica, about 4,093 meters above sea level.

The Antarctic Survey Telescopes (AST3), located at Dome A, Antarctica, is uniquely situated for rapid response time-domain astronomy with its continuous night-time coverage during the austral winter.

Installed at Kunlun Station in 2017 and upgraded this May, the second Chinese Antarctic Survey Telescope, AST3-2, is the largest visible telescope in Antarctic, operating in a fully automatic control mode to accomplish observation toward different scientific targets.

There are only two observatories on the Antarctic plateau, Dome A (China) and Dome C (Europe). "When KDUST and DATE5 are built by China, Kunlun Station will be the world's most powerful remote-controlled observatory, other than those in Space," said Mould.

The cosmic collision of the two neutron stars set up ripples in spacetime that raced outward at the speed of light. The glowing aftermath of the event, rich in heavy radioactive elements, is similar to a supernova but on a smaller scale, thus is called a kilonova.

The brightness and time evolution of the optical transient associated with GW170817 are broadly consistent with the predictions of models involving merging binary neutron stars, according to a paper published Monday in Science Bulletin on AST3 observations of GW170817.