World's Largest Radio Telescope: Chinese Sky Eye "FAST"

Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), or FAST, is located in a karst depression in Dawa Town, Kedu Town, Pingtang County, Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. The project is an important scientific and technological infrastructure of the country. Sky Eye is composed of active reflector system, feed support system, measurement and control system, receiver and terminal, and observation base. The 500-meter spherical radio telescope, known as the "Chinese heavenly eye", was conceived in 1994 by Chinese astronomer Mr. Nan Rendong. It took 22 years to complete and was launched on September 25, 2016. Constructed under the leadership of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it has China's independent intellectual property rights, the largest single-caliber and most sensitive radio telescope in the world. The combined performance is ten times that of the famous radio telescope Arecibo.

As of August 28, 2019, a 500-meter spherical radio telescope has found 132 high-quality pulsar candidates, 93 of which have been identified as newly discovered pulsars. On January 11, 2020, the 500-meter spherical radio telescope passed the national acceptance check and put into operation.

With a sky-eye diameter of 500 meters, China is the largest single-aperture radio telescope in the world and the most sensitive. The project lasted 22 years.

According to scientists, the telescope can receive electromagnetic signals beyond 13.7 billion light years, which the central government considers to be a summary of four great techniques.

1. Large caliber, far sight. Capable of receiving electromagnetic signals beyond 1.37 billion light years

2. Giant flexible eyes. World's largest single caliber, most sensitive.

3. Millimeter accuracy. After three years of testing, the error is no more than 1mm.

4. Observe dark matter, determine black hole mass, and even search for possible extraterrestrial civilizations.

This also means that Chinese people can use their own telescopes to explore the existence of life and civilization in the universe and beyond.

Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), or the "China Sky Eye," Chinese scientists revealed unprecedented details of the Galactic interstellar medium.

Led by Han Jinlin, a scientist from the National Astronomical Observatories of China, the research team published their new findings Saturday in the latest journal Science China: Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy.

According to Han, during the sensitive survey for pulsars using FAST, the spectral line data of the interstellar medium was recorded simultaneously. Though the fine calibration is still underway, the results available are already the most sensitive for detecting neutral hydrogen gas clouds to date, showing unprecedented details about the distribution of neutral hydrogen gas.

"The sensitive FAST observations can reveal unprecedented details of the Milky Way," said Jing Yipeng, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. "The databases of neutral hydrogen and ionized hydrogen published by these papers are valuable resources for astronomers all over the world," Jing added.