MUST convenes the first scientific seminar

2021-05-10

On May 8-9, 2021, the first scientific symposium of the MUltiplex Survey Telescope (MUST) was held at Tsinghua University. Experts and scholars from different fields in the astronomy community from China and abroad discussed the scientific highlights of MUST, as well as the technical requirements for the telescope.

Professor Shude Mao, the head of the Department of Astronomy, introduced the overall background and progress of the MUST project. Professor Mao emphasized the importance of international communication during the design phase to avoid possible oversights and to strive for significant breakthroughs in several cutting-edge scientific directions.

Associate Professor Zheng Cai, the chief scientist of the MUST project, stated that the symposium invited experts from various fields in astronomy from China and abroad. The goal is to cover more practical scientific demands from various fields in the design phase of MUST through the exchange of ideas, to meet the crucial breakthroughs in space observation and other fields in China.

The scientific symposium covered research topics in various fields of astronomy. Experts and scholars from various locations discussed and shared their insights on planetary science, stellar science, nearby universe science, solar system, time domain, galaxy clusters, interstellar medium, active galactic nuclei, and other topics. They also exchanged ideas on significant astronomical breakthroughs that could be brought by ground-based optical observation in the next decade. Finally, the experts conducted a detailed analysis of the various important indicators of the MUST telescope, forming the theoretical basis for the next steps of the project.