Could China’s giant LAMOST telescope be moved to ‘ideal’ Gobi Desert?
- The dry, clear conditions make it possible to observe twice as many stars but any move would take at least five years
- LAMOST’s location near Beijing has been criticised by some scientists for limiting its mission to observations within the Milky Way
The resulting air and light pollution at LAMOST’s location – a three-hour drive from Beijing near the town of Xinglong in Hebei province – is limiting the telescope’s performance at a time of fierce international competition, some scientists have said.
Zhao Yongheng, deputy director of the LAMOST operation centre, was in northern Qinghai province on Sunday inspecting China’s latest observatory hub on Saishiteng Mountain, where conditions rival the best observation sites in the world.
“The air is so dry in the Gobi desert. If we could find a way to move LAMOST here, we’d simply have less clouds and many additional clear nights for observation,” said Zhao, who has been working with the telescope for more than two decades.
LAMOST is among the most efficient tools to scan the night sky, with its segmented main mirror that can continuously adjust its shape to meet observational needs.