World’s largest telescope
In the south of China, in Guizhou province, the world’s largest telescope was put into operation, the telescope called the Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST).
Another name for the Tianyan Telescope, which means “heavenly eye” in Chinese.
The construction of the telescope began in 2011. In September 2016, scientists started testing it. FAST has become the world’s largest radio telescope. Its diameter is 500 meters and the area is 30 football fields.
This telescope will allow scientists to study the formation and evolution of galaxies, study dark matter, and study objects of the Reunification era. One of the main tasks of Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is the detection of pulsars that appear as a result of supernova explosions. Studying them will help to deepen knowledge about gravitational waves, black holes and other celestial phenomena.
Use of natural sinkholes
Let us tell you that this telescope has been made instead of a naturally formed sinkhole. This telescope started functioning from 2016 and is the largest field radio telescope in the world.
Apart from this, it is also the second largest single aperture telescope in the world. Next to it is the Ratan-600 of Russia. This telescope has 4450 triangular panels, whose radius is about 500 meters or 1600 feet. The size of this telescope in China is equal to 30 football grounds. It was started making in the year 2011 and it came in front of the world in the year 2016.
Features of Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope
Since the telescope’s test launch, more than 50 stars similar in characteristics to pulsars have been detected, 11 of which have been confirmed as new pulsars by observatories in other countries. (Pulsars are neutron stars that spin at high speed and emit strictly periodic pulses of electromagnetic radiation.)
If we talk about its panels, then each side is 11 meters. It takes 40 minutes to revolve around this telescope with a diameter of 1.6 km.
This telescope has been installed here considering its geographical location. No city is settled within a radius of about 5 km from it.
The telescope is located in a natural groove, made of perforated aluminum panels and uses a set of instruments that move above it.
This telescope of such a large size rests on hundreds of steel pillars and cables. The purpose of installing this is to find aliens apart from searching for life in distant space. Its specialty is that it can also catch low-capacity signals. China has spent 12 billion rupees or 185 million dollars to build this telescope.
With the help of 4,500 panels, this telescope installed in China can gather information about stars about 1,000 light years away in space.