China makes major progress in building world's highest solar observatory

Construction of supporting infrastructure for a cutting-edge solar telescope began Tuesday in Daocheng County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, marking a significant step toward a new era of high-resolution solar observation.

The 2.5-meter Wide-field and High-resolution Solar Telescope (WeHoST), a national research instrumentation project, is led by Nanjing University in collaboration with the Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology and the Yunnan Observatories, both under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The construction of the telescope officially began in 2022. Upon completion, it will be the world's largest axisymmetric solar telescope.

Strategically situated at an elevation of 4,700 meters on an unnamed mountain in Daocheng County, the chosen site boasts exceptional atmospheric stability and solar observation conditions.

This location is poised to become the world's highest solar observatory, providing a critical foundation for acquiring world-class observational data.

Construction of the supporting infrastructure and telescope assembly is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, followed by comprehensive system commissioning and testing.

The telescope project promises unprecedented capabilities thanks to its combination of a wide field of view with high spatial resolution.

This unique configuration will enable multi-band imaging and magnetic field observations, which are essential for comprehensively investigating the origin and energy release mechanisms of major solar events, such as flares and coronal mass ejections.

Scientists anticipate that the telescope will lead to breakthrough discoveries on the origin and evolution of solar active regions, as well as the mechanisms driving solar eruptive phenomena.

(Cover: A solar flare, the bright flash in the center of the image, October 23, 2024. /VCG)