China releases first image taken by wide-field telescope

China has just released the latest image of the Andromeda Galaxy, more than 2 million light years away from Earth. Notably, this is the first image taken by the wide-field telescope capable of surveying the entire sky of the Northern Hemisphere, which China put into operation in Qinghai Province (Northwest of the country) on September 17.

This image of the Andromeda Galaxy was taken by the Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) - developed by the University of Science and Technology of China and the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. (Photo: THX/TTXVN)

The Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) - developed by the University of Science and Technology of China and the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences - is currently the largest time-domain survey facility in the Northern Hemisphere.

Because of the Andromeda Galaxy's vast extent in the sky, it would be difficult for current telescopes to capture accurate and complete images of the galaxy, as well as its surroundings, at the same time.

WFST, combining a wide field of view and high-resolution imaging capabilities, captured this multicolor image of the Andromeda Galaxy and its distant regions. WFST created this image using 150 photographs of the Andromeda Galaxy taken over several nights of observations.

Capable of surveying the entire Northern Hemisphere sky every three nights, the WFST is expected to help scientists monitor ongoing astronomical events and conduct time-domain astronomical observation research. It is also expected to improve China's ability to monitor near-Earth objects and issue early warnings.

The WFST is 2.5 meters in diameter and is located in the town of Linghu, which has an average elevation of about 4,200 meters above sea level. The town is known as China's "Mars Camp" because of its eroded desert landscape, which resembles the surface of the Red Planet.