China's solar telescope array starts trial observation

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- A solar telescope array in southwest China has started trial observation, according to its developer, the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The Daocheng Solar Radio Telescope (DSRT), a solar radio imaging telescope that sits in Daocheng County, Sichuan Province, is a key part of the country's phase-2 Meridian Project.

The array, consisting of 313 six-meter-wide parabolic antennas circling a 100-meter-high calibration tower in the center, is the world's largest synthesis aperture radio telescope.

The array will continuously monitor the sun and explore methods to monitor and warn of pulsars, fast radio bursts and asteroids. Researchers will study high-precision data processing methods to further improve its image quality.