Telescope in Xinjiang alerts spacecraft to solar interference

A solar magnetic field telescope in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has been helping China’s aerospace industry avoid solar interference, authorities said on Tuesday.

The telescope monitors the sun and indirectly alerts spacecraft to help them avoid unstable magnetic activity, Yang Junmin, head of the meteorological bureau in Wenquan county, Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, told the Global Times.

“The solar magnetic field telescope takes six sets of photos every 30 minutes, which are immediately sent to the National Meteorological Administration,” Yang said.

The telescope is the world’s fourth and China’s second such device, according to a statement the bureau sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.

The other solar magnetic field telescope is located in Beijing’s Huairou district.

The Wenquan telescope is a significant part of China’s space weather alert program and is mainly used to study “the vector magnetic field of the solar photosphere and the magnetic field of the solar chromosphere,” China News Service reported.

The telescope could cover the entire central Asia area, Yang said, and its data could be shared with other countries.

The telescope was developed by a team led by Ai Guoxiang, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The telescope started operation in October 2013.

“Wenquan is surrounded by thin, clear air,” Yang said, “which is perfect for observing the sun.”