China is constructing the world's largest radio telescope - can detect the presence of alien life in distant galaxies
A massive engineering and scientific project in China is expected to take us one step closer in our quest to discover if we are truly alone in the universe.
The country's military-led space program is constructing the world's largest radio telescope, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, and Chinese state media recently released images of the amazing structure nearing completion.
The massive construction project -- when completed the dish itself will be the size of 30 football pitches -- has the potential to be a game-changer for our understanding of the universe, and our search for life on other planets.
When it is finished it will potentially be able to detect radio signals -- and potentially, signs of life -- from planets orbiting a million stars and solar systems.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency says FAST will be completed in 2016 -- allowing researchers to detect radio signals from as far as tens of billions of light years away.
Nan Rendong, chief scientist of the FAST project, told Xinhua that the huge dish will enable much more accurate detection.
The remoteness of the location -- meaning minimal interference from other radio signals -- and the region's topography make it an ideal site for a telescope of this kind.
When operational, it will surpass the current largest radio telescope, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which has a diameter of 305 meters. Arecibo Observatory was featured on one of James Bond 007 movie
There are many who think we aren't alone. It's not clear whether FAST will ever find evidence of little green men, but it will allow us to look further than ever before for them.
Its unprecedented precision will allow astronomers to survey the Milky Way and other galaxies and detect faint pulsars, and the array might also work as a powerful ground station for future space missions.
And, of course, it will advance the search for extraterrestrial signs of life.
In July, when NASA discovered an 'earth-like' planet named Kepler-452b there was understandable excitement.
It was in the so-called 'Goldilocks zone' -- the right distance from its sun to support an atmosphere and liquid water.
Wu Xiangping, director-general of the Chinese Astronomical Society, was bullish about its capabilities. "It will help us to search for intelligent life outside of the galaxy and explore the origins of the universe," he told state media.
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NASA Found Earth Twin Planet Kepler 2.0 -452b
source: CNN
The country's military-led space program is constructing the world's largest radio telescope, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, and Chinese state media recently released images of the amazing structure nearing completion.
The massive construction project -- when completed the dish itself will be the size of 30 football pitches -- has the potential to be a game-changer for our understanding of the universe, and our search for life on other planets.
When it is finished it will potentially be able to detect radio signals -- and potentially, signs of life -- from planets orbiting a million stars and solar systems.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency says FAST will be completed in 2016 -- allowing researchers to detect radio signals from as far as tens of billions of light years away.
Nan Rendong, chief scientist of the FAST project, told Xinhua that the huge dish will enable much more accurate detection.
"A radio telescope is like a sensitive ear, listening to tell meaningful radio messages from white noise in the universe. It is like identifying the sound of cicadas in a thunderstorm," he said.Construction on the FAST project began in 2011 and it is nestled in a natural indentation in Guizhou province's spectacular karst mountains.
The remoteness of the location -- meaning minimal interference from other radio signals -- and the region's topography make it an ideal site for a telescope of this kind.
When operational, it will surpass the current largest radio telescope, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which has a diameter of 305 meters. Arecibo Observatory was featured on one of James Bond 007 movie
There are many who think we aren't alone. It's not clear whether FAST will ever find evidence of little green men, but it will allow us to look further than ever before for them.
Its unprecedented precision will allow astronomers to survey the Milky Way and other galaxies and detect faint pulsars, and the array might also work as a powerful ground station for future space missions.
And, of course, it will advance the search for extraterrestrial signs of life.
In July, when NASA discovered an 'earth-like' planet named Kepler-452b there was understandable excitement.
It was in the so-called 'Goldilocks zone' -- the right distance from its sun to support an atmosphere and liquid water.
Wu Xiangping, director-general of the Chinese Astronomical Society, was bullish about its capabilities. "It will help us to search for intelligent life outside of the galaxy and explore the origins of the universe," he told state media.
You might also like to read :
NASA Found Earth Twin Planet Kepler 2.0 -452b
source: CNN
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