Wide Field Survey Telescope

The Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) is a Chinese observatory with a 2.5-meter primary mirror, built to monitor astronomical objects that change over time, like supernovae. It achieved first light on September 17, 2023, by capturing an image of the Andromeda Galaxy. The telescope covers six wavelength bands from 320 to 1028 nanometers, has a 3-degree field of view, and can detect objects down to 23rd magnitude. Nicknamed Mozi after an ancient Chinese philosopher and optics pioneer, it sits at an altitude of 4,200 meters on the Tibetan Plateau near Lenghu Town in Qinghai Province.

Construction began in 2017, led by the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei and the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing. Following a three-month pilot survey, the WFST is expected to start a six-year mission in 2024. Its location helps fill a gap in the global network of high-altitude observatories, which are mostly concentrated in the Western Hemisphere—such as Maunakea in Hawaii, Cerro Paranal in Chile, and La Palma in the Canary Islands—enabling more consistent tracking of fast-changing celestial events.