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© GRAPHIC NEWS

© GRAPHIC NEWS

© GRAPHIC NEWS

Graphic shows how FAST fits into a natural depression in the landscape and how it compares to the previous largest radio telescope in the world.
GN34467EN

SCIENCE

World’s largest radio telescope

By Ninian Carter

September 25, 2016 - The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, is the world’s largest radio telescope. Hewn out of a mountain in China at a cost of $180 million, it starts operation September 25.

In a process known by astronomers as "first light" -- when a telescope opens its eyes and takes its first pictures of the universe -- it will begin its hunt for extraterrestrial life on distant planets.

The recent discovery of three life-friendly planets outside our solar system has rekindled discussion of whether intelligent life is unique to Earth. FAST's sensitivity will be capable of detecting exoplanets like these in ways that other telescopes cannot.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 07/07/2016; STORY: Graphic News
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