China, Germany build astronomical observatory in Tibet
LHASA. October 13. KAZINFORM. Chinese and German scientists are establishing an astronomical observatory in a Tibetan county 4,300 meters above sea level; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
Construction of the observatory began on Monday in Yangbajain Township, of Damxung County in the suburbs of Tibet's regional capital Lhasa, said project leader Wang Junjie Tuesday.
The observatory would be operational in early 2011, after a state-of-the-art telescope was moved to the Tibet plateau from its current site in the Swiss Alps, said Wang, a researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in Beijing.
The project will enable Chinese and German scientists to carry out interdisciplinary research.
"Tibet is an ideal location because the water deficit in its air ensures superb atmospheric transparency and creates a comparatively stable environment for research in the areas of astrophysics, high-energy and atmospheric physics," said Yan Jun, director of the CAS National Astronomical Observatories.
"The observatory would house a KOSMA 3-meter sub-millimeter-wave telescope, the first of its kind to be used in general astronomical observation in China," said Yan.
The telescope would be moved next year from Gornergrat, in Switzerland, at an altitude of 3,200 meters, he said; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.news.xinhuanet.com for full version.