Article Posted on : - Apr 19, 2012

The telescope will conducting surveys of supernovae and other extrasolar bodies.

BEIJING (PTI): China has installed and tested the AST3-1 Antarctic Survey Telescope in Antarctica, the largest optical telescope in the area capable of conducting surveys of supernovae and other extrasolar bodies.

This was announced by researchers from China's 28th Antarctic scientific expedition team on Wednesday.

The AST3-1 is China's first domestically produced automatic unmanned telescope, capable of conducting surveys of supernovae and other extrasolar bodies.

"It's 4.5 meters tall, making it the largest optical telescope in Antarctica," said Li Zhengyang, a member of the scientific expedition team.

In January 2008, China installed the CSTAR optical telescope group at "Dome A" on the Antarctic Plateau, one of the coldest places on Earth.

The telescope group has collected large amounts of astronomic data over the last four years, state run Xinhua reported.

Another two optical telescopes will be installed in 2013 and 2014, respectively, according to the team's deputy head Yuan Xiangyan.

"China started late in Antarctic astronomic exploration, but it has made great progress. Since we took advantage of the observation point at Dome A, more countries have expressed willingness to cooperate with us," Yuan said.