Chinese telescope in unique position for stellar merger
Print Edition
CHINESE scientists yesterday announced observation of the “optical counterpart” of gravitational waves coming from the merger of two binary neutron stars using a survey telescope in Antarctica.
The day after gravitational waves were discovered by detectors based in the US on August 17, the Chinese telescope independently observed optical signals resulting from the merger, according to the Chinese Center for Antarctic Astronomy.
It was the first time gravitational waves and the corresponding electromagnetic phenomena resulting from a binary neutron star merger had been detected.
The merging process ejected radioactive material with more than 3,000 times the mass of the Earth at a speed of up to 30 percent the speed of light, according to Wang Lifan, director of the center. The host galaxy of the incident is about 130 million light years from Earth.
The Chinese telescope’s location allows for continuous observations lasting longer than 24 hours during the austral winter.
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