China now holds the world's last giant, single-dish telescope after the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope collapsed

China's 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST). 
Xinhua/Liu Xu via Getty Images


  • China's Aperture Global Radio Telescope (FAST) is the largest and last giant, single-bowl telescope left after the collapse of Arecibo.
  • As China's lunar mission progresses, experts say, thanks to its resolution and precision, the FAST telescope will help generate critical research for decades to come.
  • The Chinese state media, which opened in November 2016, reported that FAST could host foreign scientists in 2021.  

    Following Wednesday at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the scientific community mourned the loss of an astronomical turning point.


    There is currently only one giant, only bowl, radio telescope left in the world: China's 500-meter Aperture Global Radio Telescope (FAST).

    Completed in 2016 and located in southwest China's Guizhou province, the observatory cost 171 million dollars and took nearly half a year to build. Its size allows it to detect weak radio waves from pulsars and materials in galaxies far away; 300 of its 500-meter diameter can be used at any time.

    Experts say that in the next year, FAST is expected to shine to determine radio radio waves to study the origins of supermassive black holes or to find planets in the system outside the sun.

    In November, Chinese state media reported that parts of the FAST facility will open in 2021.

    The Chinese Academy of Sciences National Astronomical Observatory, which oversees FAST, did not immediately respond.
    Before and after shots of the Arecibo telescope. 
    NAIC Arecibo Observatory/NSF, Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images


    But there were some functions that Arecibo's telescope couldn't do FAST.

    "For observation in the solar system, Arecibo was able to transmit signals and receive reflections from planets, a function that FAST could not complete on its own. This feature allowed Arecibo to facilitate tracking of asteroids close to Earth. University of Western Australia, International Center for Radio Astronomy Research. It is important in protecting the Earth from space threats, "radio astronomy researcher Liu Boyang at, told the South China Morning Post.

    As Business Insider reported earlier in the week, China has made significant strides in the space race as the US is experiencing a decline.

    China's Chang'e-5 probe landed on the moon this week, the moon collected the samples and the samples returned to orbit, which will start a journey that will take weeks to deliver the samples. Today, the Chinese state media and NASA shared images of China planting its flag on the moon.