Recently, the research team of Han Jinlin, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory, used the Chinese Sky Eye FAST to detect the gas medium in the Milky Way and obtain high-definition images.

The series of results will be published in the professional academic journal "Science China" on December 10, 2022.

　　The scientific research team of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences used the Chinese Sky Eye FAST to survey the Milky Way point by point and search for pulsars, while simultaneously recording the spectral line data of the interstellar gas, and recently completed the observation of a part of the Milky Way, processing about 44,000 The radio spectral line data obtained the distribution structure of hydrogen atom gas in the Milky Way and the diffuse characteristics of ionized gas with the highest sensitivity and clarity in the world.

The research team used pulsars to detect the largest range of magnetic field features in the Milky Way so far, and scanned an area of ​​the Milky Way with the Chinese Sky Eye FAST, and newly identified the remnants of two supernova explosions.

These studies have revealed the mysteries of the birth to death of hidden stars in interstellar space from multiple perspectives, and are of great significance to understanding the birth of celestial bodies in the Milky Way and the material cycle in interstellar space.

　　Han Jinlin, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced that the gas of hydrogen atoms permeating the vast interstellar space can form hydrogen molecular clouds after converging and cooling, and a new generation of stars can be bred in the high-density core.

Newborn stars ionize the surrounding gas. Stars evolve from birth to death, and finally explode after they die, and scatter the synthesized gas and elements into interstellar space. Some of these stars will produce supernova remnants and pulsars after they die.

Using the newly observed data, researchers will make new explorations in the structure of the Milky Way, discover the structure of the distant ionized gas and atomic gas in the Milky Way, and conduct in-depth studies on the physical characteristics of these gases forming stars and surrounding ionization.

The distribution map of the interstellar hydrogen atom gas revealed by FAST (accumulation of speed range -150 km/s to 150 km/s)

The distribution map of ionized gas in the interstellar space of the Milky Way revealed by FAST (accumulation of speed range -40 km/s to 120 km/s)

　　(Chu Erjia, CCTV reporter Shuai Junquan) (Source: CCTV News Client)