Xinhua 2016: 07: 04.08: 24
GUIYANG, China, July 3 (Xinhua) – The installation of the largest radio telescope in the world was completed this morning after the last piece of the 4,450 panels is set at the center of the huge plate.
the placement of the last panel in the triangular reflector, an area equivalent to 30 football fields, began at 10:47 hours and lasted about an time, a crucial time for the start of its planned start of operations in September step.
About 300 people, including builders, experts, enthusiasts of science fiction and journalists witnessed the installation in a karst valley located in the district of Pingtang of southwest china’s Guizhou province.
“the telescope is of great importance to humans explore the universe and extraterrestrial civilizations,” said Liu Cixin, a famous writer science fiction, present during installation.
“I hope that scientists can make discoveries that mark an era,” Liu, winner of the Hugo 2015 Award for Best Novel said.
scientists then begin the process of debugging and test observation of spherical telescope hundred meter aperture (FAST, for its acronym in English) said the deputy director of the National Astronomical Observatory (NAO) of the Academy of Sciences of China, responsible for the construction of the telescope.
the project has the potential to trace strangest objects to better understand the origin of the universe and boost the global search for extraterrestrial life, said Zheng, adding that the radio telescope will be the global leader over the next 10 to 20 years.
in the first two or three years, the telescope will undergo further adjustments, and during that period Chinese scientists will use it to research first phase. Then scientists from around the globe will open, said the director of the Laboratory of Technology Radio Astronomy NAO, Peng Bo.
Scientists can also perform remote control and observation in other cities like Beijing, to more than 2,000 kilometers of the telescope, said Peng.
once completed, the telescope will be of a size much larger than the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which is 300 meters in diameter. It will also be ten times more sensitive than the adjustable telescope 100 meters located near Bonn, Germany, he added.
“Most of the technology and materials are made in China,” said chief technology officer the Wang Qiming.
project FAST Among the seven recipients FAST, five are domestically manufactured and the other two were produced jointly by institutions in China, Australia and the United States.
FAST project, with an investment of 1.200 billion yuan (180 million dollars), was initiated in 2011.
EYE iN THE SKY
Radio telescopes have made important astronomical discoveries, such as pulsars, quasars and cosmic microwave background radiation. Among the 10 Nobel prizes awarded for discoveries concerning cosmology and space, six were given to radio telescopes.
“As the telescope opening located on a site extremely quiet Radio world’s largest, its scientific impact astronomy will be extraordinary and will surely revolutionize other areas of the natural sciences, “said chief scientist FAST project, Nan Rendong.
FAST boost astronomers to achieve many scientific goals, including the study of hydrogen neutral in distant pulsars and detect faint galaxies.
scientists also expect progress on pulsars, stars of highly magnetized neutron and emit a rotating beam of electromagnetic radiation. So far, we have detected more than 2,000 pulsars.
“Pulsars can help scientists to study gravitational waves,” added Chen.
With the integration of China international efforts to detect gravitational waves, FAST will help improve the chances of detecting gravitational waves of low frequency, the researcher Wu Xiangping of the Academy of Sciences of China, who predicted great strides in this area in the coming years said.
for ordinary people, perhaps the most exciting goal of FAST is the search for extraterrestrial life.
in two or three years, scientists could find amino acids, the founding block of life . There is a great chance that humans find someday life on other planets or galaxies, said researcher Li Di’s NAO.
“The potential for FAST to discover an alien civilization will be between 5 and 10 times higher the current team, because he can see farther and dark planets, “said Peng Bo.
” THANKS tO tHE aLIENS “
the proposal to build FAST in Guizhou was made by Chinese scientists more than two decades ago.
in 1994, he started the site to study the geomorphology and distribution of karst depressions, climate, environment engineering, social environment and interference radio.
the engineer Zhu Boqin worked on site selection 20 years ago. He recalled that after more than two hours of laboriously walking through the rugged mountain road, about 150 kilometers south of the provincial capital of Guiyang, was impressed by the sight of a big depression and round surrounded by green hills.
The place was home to 65 people from 12 families in an isolated world called “Village Green Water”. In the absence of electricity, the villagers had a clear view of the sky at night.
Zhu said that although the villagers were unaware of what was a radio telescope, were thrilled when scientists explained that they would use it to investigate intelligent beings on other planets.
the karst formations, which arose by the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite and gypsum, create natural circular depressions. This saved the effort of digging the basin for the giant telescope dish, she told Li Di.
The three hills surrounding the depression form an equilateral triangle, a perfect support for the dish, he said.
the karst formations are also suitable for draining rainwater and protect the reflector, Zhu said. In addition, the surrounding area has a “radio silence” because there are no villages within 5 kilometers around and only one district 25 kilometers.
The site was finally chosen for the FAST Project.
residents were moved to villages in 2009, and since then enjoy a better quality of life. Villagers from nearby communities envied their fate and said they should “thank aliens”.
“At first I never thought I would move to make room for a telescope,” said Yang Chaolan, 62 who now lives in a two-story building funded by the government at the head of the village Kedu.
His son, Yang Tianyou 29-year-old plans to open a restaurant or supermarket to cater to the growing number of tourists.
according to a government plan, the end of September 9,110 residents who live five kilometers from the telescope will be relocated in the district of Pingtang and in the district of Luodian in four settlements.
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