China's FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope) will become the world's largest operational radio telescope which will potentially be able to detect signs of life on planets in solar systems that are as far as at least ten billion light years away.
This single-aperture spherical telescope will be supported by China's supercomputer SkyEye-1 and is expected to challenge and revolutionise perceptions of the universe.
According to CNN, FAST's 500 meter aperture roughly translates to about 30 football fields, a definite upgrade to the world's current largest operational telescope housed in Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory, which has an aperture of 305 meters.
With this addition to China's space program, the title as the new space superpower seems an inevitable link. Since becoming the third nation to send human explorers to orbit in 2003, China has since been credited with an orbital space lab and a probe to the moon. Besides FAST, constructions of a heavy-lift rocket and of a 60-ton space station, as well as plans for a second robotic lunar mission are well underway in China.
FAST is located in Southwest China, in a naturally shaped valley nestled among the karst mountains of Qiannan, Guizhou province. The topography along with the location's remoteness, especially in terms of radio signal traffic from external interference, is a more than ideal site for this supertelescope.
In earlier news, Chief scientist Nan Rendong related to Chinese-state run Xinhua News agency that the instrument's gargantuan dish will increase accuracy in radio signal detection. He likens radio telescopes to a sensitive listening ear which endeavours to distinguish between meaningful messages and the universe's white noise. He compares this process to attempting to identify the sound of cicadas in the middle of a thunderstorm.
Still according to Xinhua News, FAST has an estimated perimeter of 1.6 km. Roughly 40 minutes will be required to complete a walk around the telescope.
