What can scientists expect from the world's largest Chinese radio telescope? FAST Observatory Ropes with hydraulic drives at the fast telescope

Telescope FAST

The 500-meter FAST radio telescope, the world's largest filled-aperture telescope, was put into operation in China. In terms of its diameter, it is second only to RATAN-600, located in Karachay-Cherkessia, which, however, does not have a filled aperture. The closest analogue of FAST is the 300-meter radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory. This was reported by the Xinhua agency.

The dimensions of the telescope determine its performance characteristics - sensitivity, resolution, and so on. The larger the radio telescope, the smaller or more distant objects it can detect. In terms of resolution, the absolute record holder is RadioAstron. This is a system for observing space objects using ultra-long baseline interferometry, consisting of the Spektr-R space radio telescope and various ground-based radio telescopes. Together they form an instrument equivalent to a radio telescope with a diameter of about one hundred thousand kilometers.

However, such systems have low sensitivity due to their small effective area. The overall sensitivity is determined as the geometric mean of the sensitivity of the 10-meter Spektr-R and the ground-based radio telescope operating in tandem with it. Therefore, such observations require ground-based instruments of high sensitivity. In addition, new radio telescopes expand the tools available to astronomers around the world.

The new radio telescope is located in Guizhou province and has an area of ​​about 30 football fields. Despite the 500-meter diameter, observations will use reflector fragments with a diameter of about 300 meters - this is the effective diameter of the telescope. By this indicator, FAST is only slightly better than the Arecibo Observatory (221 meters). The 500-meter reflector will allow the telescope to have a much larger field of view.

After commissioning, the first test observations were already carried out at the telescope. According to Qian Lei, a researcher at the National Astronomical Laboratory (China), the telescope successfully detected a signal from one of the pulsars, located 1351 light years from Earth.

FAST's tasks will include tracking pulsars, studying interstellar gas, searching for complex molecules, and analyzing objects from the reionization era. Scientists expect the radio telescope to double the number of pulsars known to science. This can help in the search for gravitational wave signals in "glitches" of pulsar radiation (such observations, for example, by the NANOGrav consortium). Representatives of the RadioAstron project previously stated that FAST will be able to work in tandem with Spektr-R. The radio telescope will be tuned for the first two to three years after commissioning, after which it will become available to the international community.

Interestingly, to build the telescope, the Chinese authorities had to resettle about 9,000 local residents outside the five-kilometer zone around the telescope. Construction took place in July 2016. Next to the telescope there is an observation deck, to which access will be organized for tourist groups - up to two thousand people a day. The cost of a ticket for it will be about 3.5 thousand rubles in terms of Russian money.

Vladimir Korolev

A little over a year ago, the world's largest radio telescope, FAST, a spherical radio telescope with a five-hundred-meter aperture, began operating in China. It was built with the aim of studying the origins and evolution of our universe. In addition, the telescope is expected to be able to study the formation and movement of galaxies, gravitational waves and dark matter, as well as the molecules of interstellar space.

First discovery

Despite a lot of conflicting information, including that thousands of people lost their land due to the construction of the telescope and that China did not have enough specialists to successfully launch it, FAST worked for a full year. Just recently, lab leaders published his first findings. They became pulsars - neutron stars that rotate around their (slightly tilted) axis at enormous speed.

The importance of the telescope for science

According to the Chinese newspaper China Daily, the telescope was able to detect several dozen previously unknown pulsars. The existence and location of some of them was confirmed by a radio observatory in Australia.

According to the director of the FAST radio telescope, such results are a clear demonstration of the successful work of the observatory and specialists. Findings like these suggest that FAST will be extremely useful to the global scientific community, as it is powerful enough to sense signals from pulsars far beyond our galaxy.

In addition, the sensitivity of the radio telescope ensures that it will prove to be an important tool in studying the evolution of the universe and its mysterious composition (dark matter and dark energy).

The telescope's sensitivity to radio waves emitted by pulsars also demonstrates the likelihood that FAST will be useful in further studies of gravitational waves.

Anticipation of future discoveries

It is expected that the Chinese FAST radio telescope will be able to double the number of known pulsars in the Milky Way galaxy. Today, we know of 2,700 pulsars within our galaxy, the first of which was discovered in 1967.

In addition to searching for radio waves emitted by pulsars as they rotate, the telescope is searching for signals from alien life forms. Experts do not have high hopes for discovering an extraterrestrial civilization; instead, they are striving to find as many opportunities and areas as possible in which FAST could be useful to modern astrophysics.

For example, very soon the radio telescope will begin searching for and studying complex interstellar molecules, as well as neutral hydrogen located in the vastness of the universe.

Not long ago, China completed construction of the world's largest radio telescope, FAST (Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope). The diameter of its reflector is half a kilometer!

The FAST telescope has been under construction since 2011. For its construction, about 9,000 people had to be resettled from the mountainous areas around the construction site. During the construction phase:

The Chinese radio telescope consists of 4,450 panels, its bowl is located in a natural depression in the mountains of Guizhou province. Moment of assembly of the “bowl-mirror”:

The FAST telescope will observe objects located up to 11 billion light years from Earth. The National Space Agency of China plans that the radio telescope will also be able to detect signals from extraterrestrial civilizations.

By the way, previously the largest mirror with a diameter of about 305 meters was installed on a radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Let us remind you that the FAST telescope has a mirror diameter of 500 meters. Cost: $180 million.

The construction of this telescope is part of China's space program. China's immediate plans include building its own space station and creating a space telescope that will be 300 times more powerful than the American Hubble telescope.

As of March 2016, the galaxy GN-z11 is considered the farthest object from Earth; it is located at a distance of 13.4 billion light years. The galaxy was discovered using orbital data.

The RATAN radio telescope, owned by the Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is located in Karachay-Cherkessia. The diameter of the mirror is 600 meters. It is also called the largest in the world. RATAN uses a parabolic reflector, the new FAST telescope in China and the Arecibo telescope are spherical.

FAST telescope in China:

Work on creating the world's largest telescope took 5 years, and before its construction, specialists spent almost 10 years doing preliminary calculations and research.

The work has been intensive, thousands of scientists and engineers have been forced to live in the gorge of Guizhou province since 2011 and work continuously. One thing pleases me - it’s beautiful here.

An aerial view of the FAST telescope in a remote area of ​​Pingtang County, Qiannan Bui Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, southwest China. Photo: Liu Xu/Xinhua

September 25, 2016 the world's largest radio telescope Spherical radio telescope with a five-hundred-meter aperture(Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, FAST) sent the reflector towards space and received a signal from distant galaxies. The opening ceremony of FAST took place today. Before this, it was launched in test mode several times. In one of the test launches, he picked up a signal from a pulsar at a distance of 1351 light years from Earth.

Experts say the giant scientific instrument demonstrates China's ambitions in space exploration and its desire to gain international recognition for China's advanced science. Construction of the telescope, informally called 天眼, or Heavenly Eye, took five years and cost $180 million.

The FAST radio telescope, with a diameter of 500 meters, is larger than the 305-meter Arecibo radio telescope observatory in Puerto Rico, which was considered the largest in the world for the past 53 years. It should be noted here that the Russian radio telescope RATAN-600 has a diameter of 576 meters, but its aperture is not filled. Thus, Arecibo and FAST are the world's largest radio telescopes with a filled aperture.

Arecibo radio telescope

According to Chinese media, FAST has twice the sensitivity of the Arecibo Observatory, as well as 5-10 times the speed of studying the starry sky.

Comparison of Arecibo and FAST plates

The design of the FAST radio telescope consists of a single reflector in which 4450 triangular reflective panels with a side of 11 meters are interconnected in the shape of a geodesic dome.

The position of each panel can be adjusted with high precision - a mesh of steel ropes with hydraulic drives is designed for this. Thus, the radio telescope is focused in a certain direction. FAST can focus anywhere within ±40° of the zenith. In this case, a reflector section with a diameter of only 300 meters out of a total 500-meter dish is used. That is, it turns out that there are two factual errors in the name of the FAST telescope: after all, the telescope’s aperture is less than 500 meters, and the telescope is not spherical.

Construction of the telescope took five years. Engineers and builders had to live for years in one of the mountain gorges far from civilization, where at first there was not even electricity. It was this abandoned site that was chosen from 400 options: a natural valley in the mountains at an altitude of approximately 1000 m above sea level was ideal in size and provided natural protection from radio frequency interference ( satellite photo of the telescope bowl). For the sake of the scientific project, the authorities ordered the resettlement of 65 villagers in this valley and resettled 9,110 residents from eight villages in the surrounding area. In August of this year, it was reported that the evicted residents would be resettled in new houses or would be paid large compensations from the Poor Relief Fund and would be given bank loans.

The FAST radio telescope in September 2015, a year before launch

Within a radius of five kilometers around FAST there will not be a single source of interference like a microwave, which has haunted Australian astronomers for 17 years. According to the construction conditions, complete radio silence must be maintained within a radius of 5 km.

Despite the need for complete radio silence, the authorities decided to build tourist facilities in the vicinity of the radio telescope, including an observation deck on a nearby mountain. Chinese and foreign tourists can come and see this miracle with their own eyes. There is a reason for this decision: for example, about 90,000 tourists and 200 scientists come to Arecibo every year.

FAST radio telescope in September 2016

Hundreds of scientists and astronomy enthusiasts from all over the country gathered in Pingtan Province for the FAST launch ceremony. President of China

Not long ago, China completed construction of the world's largest radio telescope, FAST (Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope). The diameter of its reflector is half a kilometer!

The FAST telescope has been under construction since 2011. For its construction, about 9,000 people had to be resettled from the mountainous areas around the construction site. During the construction phase:

The Chinese radio telescope consists of 4,450 panels, its bowl is located in a natural depression in the mountains of Guizhou province. Moment of assembly of the “bowl-mirror”:

The FAST telescope will observe objects located up to 11 billion light years from Earth. The National Space Agency of China plans that the radio telescope will also be able to detect signals from extraterrestrial civilizations.

By the way, previously the largest mirror with a diameter of about 305 meters was installed on a radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Let us remind you that the FAST telescope has a mirror diameter of 500 meters. Cost: $180 million.

The construction of this telescope is part of China's space program. China's immediate plans include building its own space station and creating a space telescope that will be 300 times more powerful than the American Hubble telescope.

The RATAN radio telescope, owned by the Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is located in Karachay-Cherkessia. The diameter of the mirror is 600 meters. It is also called the largest in the world. RATAN uses a parabolic reflector, the new FAST telescope in China and the Arecibo telescope are spherical.

FAST telescope in China:

Radio telescope RATAN-600:

Work on creating the world's largest telescope took 5 years, and before its construction, specialists spent almost 10 years doing preliminary calculations and research.

The work has been intensive, thousands of scientists and engineers have been forced to live in the gorge of Guizhou province since 2011 and work continuously. One thing pleases me - it’s beautiful here.