China's LAMOST achieves breakthroughs in key domestic technologies, data release

BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST), a major piece of national scientific infrastructure which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), has announced a series of technological breakthroughs and a new data-release milestone.

According to the NAOC, as of October 2025, LAMOST has released a total of 28.07 million spectra and 11.59 million sets of stellar parameters, retaining its status as the world's leading producer of astronomical data.

The data-sharing program has seen widespread adoption, with more than 1,800 users from 300 institutions around the world making use of the data. These users have downloaded roughly 170,000 GB of data, and the data-release portal has been accessed 3.73 million times.

LAMOST data has contributed to significant advances in multiple research areas, including compact objects, exoplanets, and the formation and evolution of the Milky Way. In the last year alone, 417 scientific papers based on LAMOST data have been published, the institute reported.

The NAOC has also said that researchers have overcome multiple technical bottlenecks and achieved the localization of key technologies that were previously dependent on imports.

A notable breakthrough is the realization of the domestic production of specialized astronomical broadband optical fibers. These fibers serve as essential "signal conduits," demanding extremely high spectral transmittance and stability levels. LAMOST employs 4,000 such fibers in its focal plane to link with spectrographs, enabling the simultaneous observation of 4,000 celestial objects -- a cornerstone of its large-scale spectroscopic survey capabilities.

Additionally, LAMOST has upgraded its fiber-positioning system from an open-loop to a closed-loop detection system, bringing it in line with international standards for modern sky surveys. According to the NAOC, the new system improves stability, positioning accuracy and overall observational efficiency. This upgrade has improved the system's average efficiency by approximately 20 percent.

Another critical milestone is the domestic development of displacement actuators, which serve as core components of LAMOST's innovative active optics system.

LAMOST's primary mirror is composed of numerous smaller segments, each requiring precise alignment via high-precision displacement actuators. The successful localization of these actuators therefore marks a crucial step in ensuring the telescope's stable, efficient operations, the NAOC said.

"This advancement signifies substantial progress in active optics technology, enhancing both the survey performance and observational efficiency of the telescope," it added.