This radio telescope, which has become the largest on the planet with a diameter of half a kilometer, is located in Guizhou Province, China, and will be used to receive analytical signals from space.
The radio telescope has a grand reception dinner, consisting of about 4,450 triangular panels with a reflective surface. The site chosen for its construction was a depression in the ground (the Dawodang Depression).
The name of this impressive project is FAST, an acronym that stands for: 500-meter Spherical Aperture Telescope. The radio telescope is expected to be completed and begin operating in September of this year. Construction began in 2011.
Until now, Arecibo, in Puerto Rico, was the world's largest radio telescope, with a diameter of 300 meters. FAST will be twice as sensitive and between five and ten times faster.
The construction of this radio telescope will help achieve various scientific goals, such as determining the distribution of neutral atomic hydrogen, searching for dark matter and dark energy, and even finding intelligent life beyond our planet.
