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    Astronomer uses ‘China Sky Eye’ to reveal binary origin of fast radio bursts

    January 18, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Astronomer uses 'China Sky Eye' to reveal binary origin of fast radio bursts
    Credit: Y. Liu, X. Yang, Y.F. Liang, W.L. Zhang and Y. Li (PMO)

    An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has uncovered the first decisive evidence that at least some fast radio burst (FRB) sources—brief but powerful flashes of radio waves from distant galaxies—reside in binary stellar systems. This means the FRB source is not an isolated star, as previously assumed, but part of a binary stellar system in which two stars orbit each other.

    Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) located in Guizhou, also known as the “China Sky Eye,” the team detected a distinctive signal that reveals the presence of a nearby companion star orbiting the FRB source.

    The discovery, publ...

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    Computational Method discovers Hundreds of New Ceramics for Extreme Environments

    January 8, 2024, Categories  Physics

    rows and rows of graphic 3D lines forming boxes with different colored spheres inside
    ““Spark plasma sintering or field assisted sintering technology (FAST) is not a common technique in industry yet. However, current ceramic manufacturers could pivot to making these materials by making small adjustments to existing processes and facilities.”
    Doug Wolfe
    Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Associate Vice President for Research at Penn State

    If you have a deep-seated, nagging worry over dropping your phone in molten lava, you’re in luck.

    A research team led by materials scientists at Duke University has developed a method for rapidly discovering a new class of materials with heat and electronic tolerances so rugged that they that could enable devices to function at lava-like temperatures above several thousands of degrees Fahrenheit.

    Harder than st...

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    China begins operating World’s Largest Radio Telescope

    September 25, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    China begins operating world's largest radio telescope

    In this Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016 photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial view shows the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in the remote Pingtang county in southwest China’s Guizhou province. China has begun operating the world’s largest radio telescope to help search for extraterrestrial life. (Liu Xu/Xinhua via AP)

    The world’s largest radio telescope began searching for signals from stars and galaxies and, perhaps, extraterrestrial life Sunday in a project demonstrating China’s rising ambitions in space and its pursuit of international scientific prestige. Beijing has poured billions into such ambitious scientific projects as well as its military-backed space program, which saw the launch of China’s second space station earlier this month.

    Measuring 500m in di...

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