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| The installation of the world's largest radio telescope, Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), is completed in Guizhou, China, on July 3, 2016. (Xinhua) |
The final panel was placed onto the world's largest single-aperture radio telescope on Sunday, putting the project on target to start searching the stars this year.
Situated in a natural basin in mountainous Pingtang county, Guizhou province, the Five-Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, known as FAST, has a reflecting surface equal in size to 30 soccer fields, breaking the record set in 1963 by the United States' 305-meter Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
At 10:47 am on Sunday, Yan Jun, general manager of the project, gave the order to fix the last piece. The process, which involved cranes and robots, took about 40 minutes and was marked with a fireworks celebration.
If things go as planned, after further trials, the telescope will go into service in September, said Zheng Xiaonian, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' National Astronomical Observatories, which is in charge of the project.
The facility has the potential to unlock the secrets of the origin of the universe and boost the search for extraterrestrial life, he said, adding that it will be the global leader for 10 to 20 years.
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| Balloons are released to celebrate the completion of installation of the world's largest radio telescope, Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), in Guizhou, China, on July 3, 2016. (Xinhua) |
