Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, Radio telescope at Dawodang depression, Jinke Village, China
The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope is a radio telescope in the Dawodang depression, Jinke Village, China, nestled within a natural karst hollow in Guizhou Province. The instrument uses more than 4,400 movable metal panels that form a parabolic shape suspended on steel cables held by towers around the edge of the basin.
Construction began in March 2011, with the first observation recorded on July 3, 2016. After three years of testing, the facility entered regular operation on January 11, 2020.
The name refers to the 500-meter diameter, though the reflective surface at any moment measures around 300 meters. Visitors follow a viewing path that overlooks the enormous network of panels moving and adjusting in real time.
Electronic devices are prohibited within a 5-kilometer radius, so visitors must leave phones and cameras before entering the zone. A shuttle bus takes travelers from the parking area to the site, followed by a climb of roughly 700 steps to reach the viewing points.
The telescope discovered more than 500 new pulsars by 2021, rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit regular radio waves. It also participates in international research networks searching for extraterrestrial signals and studying dark matter.
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