World's largest radio telescope in Guizhou, China

[AndrewJin]

 

[Sugarcane]

Can the view from this telescope be live streamed? I want to search alien myself.

 

[Beast]

Can the view from this telescope be live streamed? I want to search alien myself.

Exclusive for Chinese government only

 

[AndrewJin]

Exclusive for Chinese government only

Watch the video I post!
One of the chief engineers is a girl!

 

[Beast]

I see so many negative view by the western comment. Some claim its garbage, waste of money and even claim technology advancement is exclusive reserve for western power. Evil Chinese shall be punish for making for such things.

 

[Three_Kingdoms]

Excellent video Andrew - a MUST watch for the fans to understand the science and innovation of this technology and how far this telescope can bring us to the extreme frontier of Science

This is also the best to summarise why the location was chosen out of 300 pit sites and to reveal the process of working through the arduous and dangerous task. It was indeed a difficult job for the scientists. engineers and workers to carry out the project in the remote and mountaineous terrain It's an intelligent choice though and finally it's now completed at great efficiency and it starts operating

Congratulations and I am expecting many breakthrough discoveries in science and astronomy to be unfolded by the scientists

Professor Nan. the Initiator, Chief Scientist and Engineer. seemed to have almost lost his voice in the interview when compared to (@2:54), It may be caused by the tremendous pressure and hardworks that he's experienced in the huge project

As described by the narrator, the Chief Engineering at FAST's cabin, Miss Yao Rui's involvement and problem solving works were very impressive

Professor Nan said (9:40) "The next difficult mission is how to use this science tool in a way that is productive for (China and the People) Mankind " ...

On the discovery of PULSAR: Prof Nan said " the density (of a part of a pulsar) in the size of a sugar cube would weigh several billion tons" "Pulsar offer an extreme laboratory in space "

It is the culmination of all the hard works and wisdoms of many of our top related Engineers and Scientists in China

I am so proud of this accomplishment and so are you as a Chinese and as fellow humans
All the VERY BEST into the next phase of the project!

ps it would take a while until the completion of SKAT to beat the FAST record

 

[mike2000 is back]

China's FAST radio telescope has a 500 meter diameter (or 250 meter radius).

The current record holder Arecibo has a 305 meter diameter (or 153 meter radius).

Area = π*r^2

China's FAST = π * (250 meter) ^ 2 = 196,250 meter squared detector

Arecibo = π * (153 meter) ^ 2 = 73,504 meter squared detector

Sensitivity of China's FAST radio telescope = 196,250 / 73,504 = 2.67 times more sensitive than Arecibo

Good for mankinds study and understanding of space

 

[Sanchez]

Good for mankinds study and understanding of space

Vote your leaders to look east...

 

[mike2000 is back]

Vote your leaders to look east...

We are always looking everywhere. East - West- South - North etc.

 

[grey boy 2]

China's giant telescope may lead to "discoveries beyond wildest imagination": U.S. expert September 25, 2016

Photo taken on Sept. 24, 2016 shows the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in Pingtang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province. The FAST, world's largest radio telescope, measuring 500 meters in diameter, was completed and put into use on Sunday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) may help better understand the origin and structure of the universe and accelerate and even revolutionize the search for life beyond Earth, a renowned U.S. alien intelligence expert said Saturday.

FAST, the world's largest single-dish telescope with a diameter of a half kilometer, is expected to go online on Sunday. It is located at the Dawodang depression, a natural basin or "karst" in Pingtang County in the mountainous southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou.

The telescope, nicknamed Tianyan, or the Eye of Heaven, can accurately image twice as much the sky as the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which had previously been the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, with double sensitivity and five to 10 times the surveying speed.

Douglas Vakoch, president of METI International, an organization promoting messaging outer space in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, noted that astronomers worldwide will be invited to use the facility through a competitive review of observing proposals.
read more
http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0925/c90000-9119517.html

http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0925/c90000-9119417.html
09:44, September 25, 2016

Editor's note:

The world's largest single-aperture spherical telescope, "FAST", starts operation in a karst valley in Pingtang county, Guizhou province, on Sunday. The size of 30 football fields, the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope dwarfs Puerto Rico's 300-meter Arecibo Observatory. Construction began in March 2011 at a cost of 1.2 billion yuan ($179 million).

 

[Jlaw]

Watch the video I post!
One of the chief engineers is a girl!

i'm watching it now. Wow, she fixed the problem so fast. These people are so young and talented.

 

[TaiShang]

Watch the video I post!
One of the chief engineers is a girl!

Excellent video!

And I also realized women's participation in this project. So many young scientists...

Women's empowerment is part and parcel of China's quest for reclaiming its rightful position in the universe.

The gesture to let the local boy to descend the last panel was also a great and meaningful one.

A nice gift for the nation's birthday.

***

World's largest telescope begins peering into space
By YANG JUN, HOU LIQIANG (China Daily)Updated: 2016-09-26

Dish as big as 30 soccer fields, in Guizhou, to push Chinese science to forefront

Sources: Skyandtelescope.com, universetoday.com. URSI

Scientists of the world, attention please: You are invited by China to listen for alien life from the world's largest telescope it built.


With the massive facility officially beginning to operate on Sunday, leading scientists told China Daily that foreign scientists will be welcome to use China's gigantic Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, known as FAST.

It is a single-aperture telescope the size of 30 soccer fields, located in Guizhou province in southwestern China.

The facility, surpassing the second- largest by 200 meters in diameter, is being called a game-changer in space research.

President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory letter to the scientists and engineers who contributed to its creation.

"The launch of FAST symbolizes a major breakthrough in China's science research and has great significance for the country's strategy to push forward innovation," Xi said in the letter.

FAST will search for gravitational waves, detect radio emissions from stars and galaxies, and listen for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life, scientists said.

"The ultimate goal of FAST is to discover the laws of the development of the universe," said Qian Lei, an associate researcher with the National Astronomical Observation, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which built the telescope.

"In theory, if there is civilization in outer space, the radio signal it sends will be similar to the signal we can receive when a radiation beam from a pulsar (spinning neutron star) is approaching us," Qian said.

Zhang Shuxin, deputy general manager of the project, said foreign scientists can start conducting their own space research at FAST once debugging is completed.

But before that is done, "we wouldn't feel very good" to start distributing time slots to foreign astronomers, he said.

"It's such a huge thing, you see," Zhang said. "And the technologies we use in both its driving device and reflecting surface are entirely new to us."

"As the first step, a parabola of 300 meters in diameter will be formed on the surface, with the help of the driving device, and start receiving signals," he explained. "We need to gather experience and develop methodology to ensure detection accuracy for that."

It may be three to five years before FAST can guarantee its best performance, Zhang said.

FAST's large hemispheric surface is made up of 4,450 1.3-millimeter-thin reflecting panels, each weighing 427 to 482.5 kilograms. The first panel was installed in August 2015. Patching all the panels together took 11 months.

Sun Caihong, deputy chief engineer for FAST, said the telescope's operators will focus on strong radio sources already known to them. He said scientists are also expecting to make some progress in research by analyzing data they receive in the debugging.

Wang Qiming, chief engineer for FAST, said: "We would like to finish debugging quickly. FAST will be the world leader in 10 to 20 years. We would like to make full use of this period."

FAST already had a good start, scientists said. In a recent test, it received a set of high-quality electromagnetic waves sent from a pulsar about 1,351 light-years away.

It was the best-quality signal that FAST had received since it started its trial observation in mid-September.

Wang said the most challenging part of debugging is adjusting the laser that performs measuring tasks on the reflecting surface. As long as the laser measuring device detects errors in a timely way, scientists can make immediate adjustments.

The telescope is located in an almost-perfect spherical landform, so there was no need to dig a hollow for it. The valley in Guizhou was chosen also for its karst landform, which ensures good drainage, meaning rainwater won't gather and damage the reflecting surface of the telescope.

Philip Diamond, director-general of Square Kilometer Array, a large multiradio telescope project, said: "FAST is the biggest single dish in the world. It will have new technology, and a new receiver system, to be much more efficient. Astronomers and scientists are queuing up all around the word to use it."

Diamond said the SKA, an international project in which China is a member, will be even larger than FAST.

"But ours won't be in the form of one single dish. It will be hundreds and thousands of smaller dishes spread over a large area. They will work together," he said.

"You can think of FAST as a wide-angle lens and the SKA as a zoom lens. FAST will find a lot of objects, and SKA will offer a lot of details on these objects. They will be very complementary."

Anthony Beasley, director of National Radio Astronomy Observatory of the United States, said there are many areas of radio astronomy in which FAST will bring Chinese astronomers to the fore.

Beasley said it likely will be two to three years, while the telescope is brought to its full strength, before they use it.

Construction of the nearly 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million) FAST project started in 2011, 17 years after it was proposed by Chinese astronomers.

Contact the writers at houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn

Xinhua and AP contributed to this story.

 

[Jlaw]

Excellent video!

And I also realized women's participation in this project. So many young scientists...

Women's empowerment is part and parcel of China's quest for reclaiming its rightful position in the universe.

The gesture to let the local boy to descend the last panel was also a great and meaningful one.

A nice gift for the nation's birthday.

***

World's largest telescope begins peering into space
By YANG JUN, HOU LIQIANG (China Daily)Updated: 2016-09-26

Dish as big as 30 soccer fields, in Guizhou, to push Chinese science to forefront

Sources: Skyandtelescope.com, universetoday.com. URSI

Scientists of the world, attention please: You are invited by China to listen for alien life from the world's largest telescope it built.


With the massive facility officially beginning to operate on Sunday, leading scientists told China Daily that foreign scientists will be welcome to use China's gigantic Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, known as FAST.

It is a single-aperture telescope the size of 30 soccer fields, located in Guizhou province in southwestern China.

The facility, surpassing the second- largest by 200 meters in diameter, is being called a game-changer in space research.

President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory letter to the scientists and engineers who contributed to its creation.

"The launch of FAST symbolizes a major breakthrough in China's science research and has great significance for the country's strategy to push forward innovation," Xi said in the letter.

FAST will search for gravitational waves, detect radio emissions from stars and galaxies, and listen for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life, scientists said.

"The ultimate goal of FAST is to discover the laws of the development of the universe," said Qian Lei, an associate researcher with the National Astronomical Observation, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which built the telescope.

"In theory, if there is civilization in outer space, the radio signal it sends will be similar to the signal we can receive when a radiation beam from a pulsar (spinning neutron star) is approaching us," Qian said.

Zhang Shuxin, deputy general manager of the project, said foreign scientists can start conducting their own space research at FAST once debugging is completed.

But before that is done, "we wouldn't feel very good" to start distributing time slots to foreign astronomers, he said.

"It's such a huge thing, you see," Zhang said. "And the technologies we use in both its driving device and reflecting surface are entirely new to us."

"As the first step, a parabola of 300 meters in diameter will be formed on the surface, with the help of the driving device, and start receiving signals," he explained. "We need to gather experience and develop methodology to ensure detection accuracy for that."

It may be three to five years before FAST can guarantee its best performance, Zhang said.

FAST's large hemispheric surface is made up of 4,450 1.3-millimeter-thin reflecting panels, each weighing 427 to 482.5 kilograms. The first panel was installed in August 2015. Patching all the panels together took 11 months.

Sun Caihong, deputy chief engineer for FAST, said the telescope's operators will focus on strong radio sources already known to them. He said scientists are also expecting to make some progress in research by analyzing data they receive in the debugging.

Wang Qiming, chief engineer for FAST, said: "We would like to finish debugging quickly. FAST will be the world leader in 10 to 20 years. We would like to make full use of this period."

FAST already had a good start, scientists said. In a recent test, it received a set of high-quality electromagnetic waves sent from a pulsar about 1,351 light-years away.

It was the best-quality signal that FAST had received since it started its trial observation in mid-September.

Wang said the most challenging part of debugging is adjusting the laser that performs measuring tasks on the reflecting surface. As long as the laser measuring device detects errors in a timely way, scientists can make immediate adjustments.

The telescope is located in an almost-perfect spherical landform, so there was no need to dig a hollow for it. The valley in Guizhou was chosen also for its karst landform, which ensures good drainage, meaning rainwater won't gather and damage the reflecting surface of the telescope.

Philip Diamond, director-general of Square Kilometer Array, a large multiradio telescope project, said: "FAST is the biggest single dish in the world. It will have new technology, and a new receiver system, to be much more efficient. Astronomers and scientists are queuing up all around the word to use it."

Diamond said the SKA, an international project in which China is a member, will be even larger than FAST.

"But ours won't be in the form of one single dish. It will be hundreds and thousands of smaller dishes spread over a large area. They will work together," he said.

"You can think of FAST as a wide-angle lens and the SKA as a zoom lens. FAST will find a lot of objects, and SKA will offer a lot of details on these objects. They will be very complementary."

Anthony Beasley, director of National Radio Astronomy Observatory of the United States, said there are many areas of radio astronomy in which FAST will bring Chinese astronomers to the fore.

Beasley said it likely will be two to three years, while the telescope is brought to its full strength, before they use it.

Construction of the nearly 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million) FAST project started in 2011, 17 years after it was proposed by Chinese astronomers.

Contact the writers at houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn

Xinhua and AP contributed to this story.

this telescope should be used by Chinese astronomers and scientists for at least five years before allotting time for foreign astronomers. This thing is going to pick up things no other telescope can pick up in the world.

The telescope was designed and built from the ground up by the hard working Chinese. Let us use it first and make some important discoveries before giving foreigners some time

 

[TaiShang]

this telescope should be used by Chinese astronomers and scientists for at least five years before allotting time for foreign astronomers. This thing is going to pick up things no other telescope can pick up in the world.

The telescope was designed and built from the ground up by the hard working Chinese. Let us use it first and make some important discoveries before giving foreigners some time

Exactly. In fact, in the video shared by Andrew, the lead professor stresses that the telescope will open up a venue for major scientific discoveries by Chinese scientists that were unthinkable before.


President Xi commends launch of world's largest radio telescope in China
(Xinhua)Updated: 2016-09-25

This scene shows the panorama of the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope in Pingtang county, Guizhou province, Sept 24, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

GUIYANG -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to scientists, engineers and builders as the world's largest radio telescope was officially put into use in southwest China's Guizhou province on Sunday.

A launch ceremony was held in Pingtang County, Guizhou, for the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST).

FAST, also called "China's eye of heaven," is the world's largest and most sensitive radio telescope, and China holds the intellectual property rights to it, Xi said in the letter.

Its launch is significant for China to achieve major breakthroughs in frontier scientific fields and to expedite innovation-driven growth, Xi said, adding astronomy is crucial to propelling scientific progress and innovation.

Xi called on scientists, engineers and builders to manage the telescope well and wished them fruitful research. He said he hopes they can make new and greater contributions to building China into an innovative country and a global science power.

Vice Premier Liu Yandong, who read the letter at the launch ceremony, urged efforts to pool top-notch talent, boost international cooperation, and make FAST a high-end scientific research platform.

Liu called on scientists to strive for significant and original discoveries and elevate Chinese astronomy to a world-class level.

FAST's tasks include survey of neutral hydrogen in the space, observation of pulsars as well as spacecraft tracking and communications.

Work on the project started in 2011. The installation of the telescope's main structure -- a 4,450-panel reflector as large as 30 football pitches -- was finished in early July.

 

[Beast]

Exactly. In fact, in the video shared by Andrew, the lead professor stresses that the telescope will open up a venue for major scientific discoveries by Chinese scientists that were unthinkable before.


President Xi commends launch of world's largest radio telescope in China
(Xinhua)Updated: 2016-09-25

This scene shows the panorama of the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope in Pingtang county, Guizhou province, Sept 24, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

GUIYANG -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to scientists, engineers and builders as the world's largest radio telescope was officially put into use in southwest China's Guizhou province on Sunday.

A launch ceremony was held in Pingtang County, Guizhou, for the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST).

FAST, also called "China's eye of heaven," is the world's largest and most sensitive radio telescope, and China holds the intellectual property rights to it, Xi said in the letter.

Its launch is significant for China to achieve major breakthroughs in frontier scientific fields and to expedite innovation-driven growth, Xi said, adding astronomy is crucial to propelling scientific progress and innovation.

Xi called on scientists, engineers and builders to manage the telescope well and wished them fruitful research. He said he hopes they can make new and greater contributions to building China into an innovative country and a global science power.

Vice Premier Liu Yandong, who read the letter at the launch ceremony, urged efforts to pool top-notch talent, boost international cooperation, and make FAST a high-end scientific research platform.

Liu called on scientists to strive for significant and original discoveries and elevate Chinese astronomy to a world-class level.

FAST's tasks include survey of neutral hydrogen in the space, observation of pulsars as well as spacecraft tracking and communications.

Work on the project started in 2011. The installation of the telescope's main structure -- a 4,450-panel reflector as large as 30 football pitches -- was finished in early July.

China will start to lead in astrology now and know things more than what western dont know