China's Begun Giant Effort to Find Alien Life and New Worlds
Boasting half a kilometer in diameter, it is the largest telescope dish in the world to date. The 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), which has been under construction in the Guizhou Province in southwest China since 2011, was completed on July 3 when the final panel was lowered into position.
Researchers said the telescope would search for gravitational waves, detect radio emissions from stars and galaxies and listen for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life.
During a recent test, the telescope received radio signals from a pulsar that was 1,351 light-years from Earth per CCTV report.