‘Fast’ – The World's Largest Radio Telescope

Dec 04, 2015

China has been testing world's largest radio telescope and it’s in final stages. It’s now being put through its paces with a dry run. The project cost is around £124 MILLION. The huge machine measures 500 m in diameter and is being built in Guizhou Province, a huge karst valley in Pingtang County, China. The device is known as ‘FAST’ that means 'Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope'. It is one of the biggest astronomy projects in China.

It took more than 5 years Chin to build the world's biggest radio telescope that has area of 30 football grounds and it will be ready by September 2016. FAST is made up of over 4,500 triangular panels and the side panels are 11 meters long. During the testing phase retina was installed successfully and tested in the telescope.

FAST, a single – aperture telescope is very similar to a TV antenna on a roof, but a very bigger one. With a larger and wide signal receiving area and more resolution, It can scan two times more sky area than the famous Arecibo telescope, with 3~5 times higher sensitivity.

New discoveries will be a reality because of the advanced technology of FAST and it will help in finding unknown stars in the Milky Way other more distant galaxies. Its resolution and sensitivity would allow an extremely comprehensive study of thousands of galaxies in the universe.

Source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3330703/China-begins-testing-world-s-largest-radio-telescope-construction-124-MILLION-project-enters-final-stage.html