 21CMA pods pointing to the north celestial pole | |
| Location(s) | Xinjiang, PRC |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°55′27″N 86°42′58″E / 42.9242°N 86.716°E |
| Organization | National Astronomical Observatories of China  |
| Altitude | 2,500 m (8,200 ft) |
| Built | 2004– |
| Telescope style | radio telescope |
| Angular resolution | 4 arcminute |
| Website | 21cma |
  Location of Primeval Structure Telescope | |
 Related media on Commons | |
The Primeval Structure Telescope (PaST), also called 21 Centimetre Array (21CMA), is a Chinese radio telescope array designed to detect the earliest luminous objects in the universe, including the first stars, supernova explosions, and black holes. All of these objects were strong sources of ultraviolet radiation, so they ionised the material surrounding them. The structure of this reionisation reflects the overall density structure at the redshift of luminous-object formation.