China has taken a significant step in the direction of alien research as it is all set to unveil the world's largest telescope this week.
Loaded with powerful technology, this huge telescope is called Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST and will start operating from Sep. 25, reports The Daily Galaxy. It is set in the mountainous region of Southwest China and possesses a broad dish, measuring around 1,640 feet, which is equal to the size of 30 football fields put together.
The massive size of the dish equips the telescope with the unique ability to detect even faint radio signals and it can also catch potential signs of life from other planets. This is to say that it can help the scientists discover aliens and extraterrestrial beings. The telescope's potential is pretty commendable.
According to Peng Bo, director of the NAO Radio Astronomy Technology Laboratory, FAST's alien-detection capability is five to ten times higher in comparison to the current equipment. It can see better and can explore farther planets with more precision. Its field of vision is about two times bigger than the Arecibo telescope, Puerto Rico's telescope that remained the world's biggest single aperture telescope for 53 years.
What is more, FAST will help scientists in detecting more pulsars, thereby, providing them with the capability to trace gravitational waves or ripples in space-time. This will aid them in researching the evolution of galaxies. The ability to map the distribution of hydrogen will allow them to shed light on the origins of the universe. The only thing FAST cannot do is provide warnings about earth-bound asteroids that can cause the death of human civilization.
It is worth mentioning here that FAST is a $185 million mega project and its construction began in 2011. The last of the 4,450 triangular panels, comprising the massive dish of the cutting-edge telescope, were put into place in July this year. It will be complete this week and in the beginning, Chinese astronomers are expected to be given preference; for about two to three years. After that, the telescope would become open to scientists all over the world.
