In a groundbreaking international collaboration, astronomers from China’s Tsinghua University, along with scientists from Italy, Australia, Germany, and other nations, have used two of the world’s most advanced radio telescopes, China’s Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope FAST and South Africa’s MeerKAT array, to conduct unprecedented observations of globular clusters, some of the Milky Way’s oldest and most mysterious star systems.
Their findings, reported by China Central Television CCTV, provide the most detailed measurements yet of magnetic fields and gas within these clusters, reshaping our understanding of how they evolve and how our galaxy’s magnetism works.
Understanding globular clusters helps scientists piece together the history of the Milky Way, as these ancient star systems act as time capsules from the early universe.
The discovery of their unexpectedly low gas content suggests that current models of star cluster evolution may need revising, opening new doors for astrophysical research.
Source: https://spaceinafrica.com/2025/05/26/chinas-fast-and-south-africas-meerkat-join-forces-to-unlock-new-secrets-of-the-milky-way/
