When the AIMS telescope in Qinghai Cold Lake gazes at the solar magnetic field, and when the “Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)” in the deep mountains of Guizhou listens to the pulsar rhythm, at the Xinglong Observatory of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, located in the hinterland of Yanshan Mountain, the celestial instrument named after Guo Shoujing, an astronomer from the Yuan Dynasty of China, is also observing the sky in different ways.
This large-area, multi-target optical fiber spectrum astronomical telescope is the first of its kind in China and is managed by the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. By October 2025, the cumulative number of released spectra had reached 28.07 million, and the number of stellar parameters had reached 11.59 million, ranking first in the world in terms of data volume.
Localization of key technologies
Man’s record of the starry sky began with naked-eye observations. Ancient astronomers compiled a catalog, much like ‘compiling an account’ of the starry sky. Galileo pointed the telescope at the sky for the first time, opening the study of the ‘morphology’ of celestial bodies. The breakthrough of the Guo Shoujing telescope marks the beginning of a more sophisticated era in astronomical research.
“The spectrum is like the ‘DNA’ of celestial bodies. If previous astronomical telescopes were ‘photographing’ celestial bodies, then the Guo Shoujing telescope is ‘measuring the genes’ of them.” Luo Ali, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Guo Shoujing Telescope Operation and Development Center, said that by analyzing the observed spectral data, scientists can interpret the temperature, chemical composition, motion state, and even the age of stars, thus reconstructing the history of the formation and evolution of the Milky Way.
Behind the realization of this scientific breakthrough is a crucial step toward the localization of key technologies.
As the core component of the telescope, special broad-spectrum fiber has long been monopolized by foreign countries. The focal plane of the Guo Shoujing telescope is equipped with 4,000 optical fiber positioning units, corresponding to 4,000 special broad-spectrum optical fibers. These optical fibers are connected to the spectrometer from the focal plane, allowing the telescope to acquire data from 4,000 different celestial bodies at the same time. This is the key to realizing large-scale spectral surveys and ensuring complete optical signal transmission.
Contribute China’s strength to the exploration of the universe
In the past year, 417 papers were published based on the data from the Guo Shoujing Telescope, including 1 cover article in Science, 9 sub-publications in Nature, and 1 sub-publication in Science, setting a new record high.
At the same time, the data observed by the Guo Shoujing Telescope has been used by more than 1,800 users in 300 institutions around the world to carry out scientific research, with a data download volume of about 170TB and 3.73 million queries on data publishing websites.
From the formation and evolution of the Milky Way to forward-looking scientific fields such as compact celestial bodies and exoplanets, the massive data provided by the Guo Shoujing Telescope is expanding human knowledge of the universe and becoming the key to solving its mysteries.”
“The Guo Shoujing Telescope is in a high-yield period of scientific discovery and continues to contribute China’s strength to human exploration of the universe,” said Luo Ali.
Construct a complete puzzle to understand the universe
Exploring the universe has always been the most magnificent expedition of human wisdom.
A number of advanced tools for observing the sky have been developed, leading to breakthroughs that have enabled China to form a three-dimensional observation network—from optics to radio, from stars to planets, and from the time domain to the spectrum.
This multi-band collaborative observation is jointly piecing together a complete puzzle to understand the universe. As a young researcher said, ‘When we recorded the spectral data in the depths of Yanshan Mountain, we seemed to hear the footsteps of those pioneers.”
Looking to the future, the Guo Shoujing Telescope team is continuing to promote technological upgrades, and a number of key technologies have made a leap from ‘catching up’ to ‘breakthrough,’ achieving domestic development. Taking the Guo Shoujing Telescope as the pilot platform, the team, in collaboration with Changfei Optical Fiber and Cable Co., Ltd., jointly developed a domestic astronomical special broad-spectrum optical fiber suitable for optical telescopes. At present, both the laboratory tests and the preliminary field tests of the telescope have been completed.
Luo Ali said that the technological breakthrough of the Guo Shoujing Telescope is not limited to the field of astronomy but has far-reaching strategic significance. It not only verified China’s independent research and development capabilities in the fields of active optical systems and optical fiber positioning control systems, but also promoted the development of related domestic industrial chains such as high-precision optical components, precision machinery manufacturing, and independent software algorithms, accumulating valuable experience for the subsequent development of astronomical telescopes with larger apertures and higher performance.