China's FAST telescope identifies over 1,000 pulsars

China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest filled-aperture and most sensitive radio telescope, has identified more than 1,000 new pulsars, its operator said on Tuesday. The number of new pulsars discovered by FAST has surpassed that of all foreign telescopes combined during the same period, according to the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC).

Pulsars, or fast-spinning neutron stars, originate from the imploded cores of massive dying stars through supernova explosions. Han Jinlin, scientist of the NAOC, explained that since each pulsar has its own pulse and rotation frequency; it is a bit like a lighthouse in the universe. If human beings can travel to other planets in the future, the pulsars could work as a navigation system, Han added.