China has launched the second phase of construction for its FAST radio telescope, as it aims to boost its observational power and maintain its global leadership in radio astronomy.
As part of the upgrade, two dozen fully steerable radio telescopes – each 40 metres (131 feet) across – will be constructed around the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), according to state broadcaster CCTV.
FAST is the world’s largest and most sensitive single-dish radio telescope, located in the southwestern province of Guizhou.
The new telescopes will be tuned to work in unison with FAST, forming an array that will be equivalent to that of a 10km (6.2-mile) diameter telescope, and will boost FAST’s resolution more than 30 times, CCTV reported on Wednesday.
This, in turn, will allow scientists to better understand phenomena such as gravitational waves, fast radio bursts and black hole events.
