China’s Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) has released its latest and largest dataset, further strengthening its position as the world’s leading spectroscopic sky survey project.
According to the LAMOST Operation and Development Center under the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC), the newly issued dataset designated DR13—contains more than 30.82 million spectra collected between October 2011 and June 2025.
The release includes approximately 13.47 million low-resolution spectra and 17.35 million medium-resolution spectra, along with a stellar spectral parameter catalog comprising nearly 12.94 million entries.
Officials said the scale of the dataset continues to rank LAMOST among the world’s most productive astronomical survey instruments, both in terms of data volume and scientific output.
More than 1,900 researchers from 278 institutions across countries including China, the United States, Germany, Belgium and Denmark have used LAMOST data in their work, producing over 2,200 research papers.
The observatory has been operational for 14 years and is regarded as a pioneering facility in large-scale spectroscopic sky surveys, contributing significantly to studies on the Milky Way’s structure and evolution, as well as research on quasars, exoplanets and compact celestial objects.
Scientists say the latest dataset is expected to further accelerate global astronomical research and deepen understanding of the universe’s structure and dynamics.