The completion ceremony of the Sun Yat-sen University 80cm Telescope was held on the 15th at the Zhuhai Campus of Sun Yat-sen University. This is the only ground-based infrared astronomical telescope in China currently put into observation and test operation.According to reports, the telescope project was initiated by the School of Physics and Astronomy at Sun Yat-sen University and aims to make up for China's shortcomings in the field of infrared astronomical observation. The project team is well aware of the challenges and opportunities in this field, and therefore goes all out to create a world-class infrared astronomical observation tool.
After unremitting efforts, in 2023, the Sun Yat-sen University project team joined hands with many domestic units to successfully develop this telescope and its terminal camera.After rigorous testing and evaluation, the telescope was finally selected and installed on Seshteng Mountain, Lenghu Town, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province. This decision undoubtedly demonstrates the team’s careful consideration and accurate judgment in site selection.
Lenghu Astronomical Observation Base is located in the Seshteng Mountain area of Lenghu Town, Mangya City, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, with an average altitude of 4,000 meters. Not only does it have a unique geographical location, but it also has a pleasant climate, high air cleanliness, and an extremely suitable altitude. Therefore, it is unanimously considered by the Chinese and foreign astronomical circles to be an ideal place to carry out astronomical observation and research. The base can fully meet the scientific research needs of optical/infrared large-scale astronomical equipment and provides valuable resources for astronomical research in China and even around the world.
The completion of the Lenghu observatory not only breaks the bottleneck that has long restricted the development of optical astronomy observation in China, but also fills the gap of a world-class optical astronomy observatory in the Eastern Hemisphere.This strategic scarce resource makes it possible to build a complete time-domain and spatial-domain observation network on a global scale, and will also contribute immeasurably to the development of international optical astronomy.