{
  "id": 7102131,
  "title": "China’s FAST telescope maps neutral hydrogen, the cosmic gas for making stars",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/chinas-fast-telescope-maps-neutral-hydrogen-the-cosmic-gas-for-making",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-13T12:00:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3367154/chinas-fast-telescope-maps-neutral-hydrogen-cosmic-gas-making-stars"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "China's FAST telescope has compiled the world's largest catalogue of neutral hydrogen beyond the Milky Way, surpassing the US survey Arecibo Telescope. The FAST All-Sky H I Survey (FASHI) conducted with the 500-metre radio dish in Guizhou province, released its second batch of data containing 156,411 extragalactic sources – nearly five times the number detected by Arecibo. FASHI covers about three times as much sky and detects smaller, fainter, and more distant galaxies than ALFALFA, the landmark US survey. The data provides astronomers with an unprecedented pool of galaxies to investigate the universe's biggest questions, including the formation of cosmic web and the fate of galaxies. FASHI's success stems from its greater sensitivity and ability to observe large areas faster due to 19 simultaneous sky patches, compared to Arecibo's seven. The telescope began systematically searching for neutral hydrogen, the basic form of the universe's most abundant element and star-making material, in 2020. Its initial data release in 2024 already surpassed ALFALFA's final tally of 31,500 galaxies. The new release nearly quadrupled that number through July 2025. The data could shed light on the distribution of ordinary matter within dark matter, the universe's invisible framework. The second release is now open to researchers worldwide, setting a benchmark for future radio surveys, including those planned with the Square Kilometre Array.",
  "summary": "China’s FAST telescope has compiled the world’s largest catalogue of neutral hydrogen beyond the Milky Way, replacing a long-dominant US survey as the main reference for mapping the gas that fuels the formation of stars and galaxies. The FAST All-Sky H I Survey (FASHI), conducted with the 500-metre (1,640-foot) radio dish in southwest China’s Guizhou province, released its second batch of data…",
  "key_points": [
    "FAST telescope creates world's largest catalogue of neutral hydrogen beyond Milky Way.",
    "FASHI data release nearly quadruples previous count of galaxies by July 2025.",
    "New survey provides deeper insights into cosmic web and galaxy formation."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "China’s FAST telescope maps neutral hydrogen, the cosmic gas for making stars",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/chinas-fast-telescope-maps-neutral-hydrogen-the-cosmic-gas-for-making-7102881",
        "published": "2026-09-13T12:00:08.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}