Guizhou FAST
The Guizhou Fast, founded in 2016, is also known as China's gigantic five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, which is a single-aperture telescope the size of 30 football pitches, located in Guizhou province in southwestern China.The facility, surpassing the second-largest by 200 meters in diameter, is being described as a game-changer in space research.
The 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.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 (rocky limestone) landform, which ensures good drainage, meaning rainwater won't gather and damage the reflecting surface.The FAST has already had a good start, scientists say. In a recent test, it received a set of high-quality electromagnetic waves sent from a pulsar about 1,351 light years away.
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,and the FAST will search for gravitational waves, detect radio emissions from stars and galaxies, and listen for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life.
Travel Tips
Add: Pingtang County,Qiannan Prefecture,Guizhou Province
Opening Hours: 08:00-18:00
Entrance Fee: CNY 250
http://www.zgtianyan.cn/
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