China's two new radio telescopes commence operation

Two radio telescopes with 40-meter-diameter antennas, one located on Changbai Mountains, Jilin province, and the other in Shigatse, Xizang autonomous region, have been put into operation.

The Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences held the China VLBI Network Theme Report Meeting simultaneously in Shanghai and Shigatse on Friday morning.

Built by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the completion of this project will significantly improve the configuration of China's Very Long Baseline Interferometry network.

The telescopes aim to offer technical support for the country's lunar explorations and deep-space probe missions, and it will also become a new support for radio astronomical research observations.