Ten Years of China's Sky Eye: From Completion to Multiple Original Achievements

The 500meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the “China Sky Eye,” which was completed and put into operation in 2016, is marking its 10th year of operation this year. Over the past decade, this major scientific facility located in Dawodang, Pingtang, Guizhou, has, with the sustained efforts of researchers, continuously completed debugging and upgrades, and achieved a number of internationally influential results in fields such as pulsar discovery and neutral hydrogen surveys. The article reviews FAST’s process from construction and commissioning to stable operation. The research team overcame multiple technical challenges in key areas such as the cable net, actuators, and feed cabin, while also promoting the domestic substitution and localization of core components. The longterm dedication of scientists such as Nan Rendong, as well as the spirit of successive generations of researchers who have taken root in the mountainous region and kept striving, form an important foundation for the continued advancement of this project. At present, FAST has cumulatively discovered more than 1,300 pulsars, and its related observational data and scientific achievements continue to break records. As Phase II of the project steadily advances, FAST will also continue to conduct research aimed at higher resolution and more frontier astronomical targets in the future, while continuing to play a driving role in science popularization, study tours, and the development of local cultural tourism.