China’s FAST is world’s only giant, single-dish radio telescope after Arecibo collapse

The 305-metre Puerto Rico telescope, opened in 1963, was the world’s largest, single-aperture radio telescope for 53 years until 2016
China’s FAST, which became fully operational in January this year, is expected to open to foreign scientists in 2021

Space

Coco Fengin Beijing

Published: 7:30pm, 3 Dec 2020

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After the collapse of the world’s second-largest radio telescope in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, China’s massive 500 metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) is now the only giant, single-dish telescope in the world – but it will not open to global scientists until next year.

The Arecibo Observatory, suspended by cables connected to three towers in a sinkhole, collapsed on Tuesday after the telescope’s 900-ton instrument platform fell onto the reflector dish more than 400 feet below, according to the US National Science Foundation (NSF), which owns the telescope.

The 305-metre Puerto Rico telescope, opened in 1963, was the world’s largest, single-aperture radio telescope for 53 years until 2016, when China installed FAST in southwestern Guizhou province.

“For observation within the solar system, Arecibo was able to transmit signals and receive their reflections from planets, a function that FAST isn’t able to complete on its own. The feature allowed Arecibo to facilitate monitoring of near-Earth asteroids, which is important in defending the Earth from space threats,” said Liu Boyang, a researcher in radio astronomy at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, University of Western Australia.

FAST, which became fully operational in January this year, is expected to open to foreign scientists in 2021, according to a November article by state-backed media People’s Daily. Although FAST has a 500 metre (1,640 foot) diameter, only 300 metres are used at any one time.

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The operator of FAST, the National Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Post on the current status of the telescope.

Liu added that prior to the Arecibo collapse, Chinese scientists had been able to compare data from FAST with the Puerto Rican radio telescope. Larger radio telescopes have higher resolution and sensitivity, allowing astronomers to view the universe more clearly and detect fainter objects, said Liu.

The NSF had earlier announced that the Arecibo Observatory would be closed. An auxiliary cable snapped in August, damaging the platform that hung above it. Then a main cable broke in early November.

Scientists worldwide had been petitioning US officials and others to reverse the NSF’s decision to close the observatory. The NSF said before the collapse that it intended to eventually reopen the visitor centre and restore operations at the Observatory’s remaining assets, including its two Lidar facilities.

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