Tianyan is saying hello to the world

China will open its 500-meter (1,600 foot) telescope to the global scientific community starting on April 1st. 

Tianyan  / FAST

The 500-meter aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST), also known as China's Tianyan or "Sky Eye," will open to the global scientific community and accept observation applications from scientists around the world starting from April 1.

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

The “Sky Eye” parabolic dish is the world’s largest Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) used for spotting pulsars and other energetic astronomical targets. It will also be used occasionally to search for alien life.

Foreign scientists will be able to submit applications to China’s National Astronomical Observatories online, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. 

After review, observation times will be doled out starting on August 1st. Around 10 percent of observation times will be allotted to global astronomers this year, according to FAST’s chief engineer Jiang Peng.

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

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The telescope was officially put into service on January 11th, 2020. 

However, it started observations well before then and has so far imaged 240 pulsars. One of the most significant was found in the Messier 92 star cluster. It’s a so-called millisecond pulsar that spins much faster than normal pulsars at an incredible 316.5 rotations per second (18.990 RPM), while sucking in and ejecting matter from its companion star.

China’s Sky Eye is the largest FAST telescope in the world and the only one that can do specific types of observations following the collapse of the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico. The US National Science Foundation said it would tear down the observatory, but there’s some glimmer of hope it may be rebuilt after Puerto Rico pledged $8 million in aid.

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Arecibo Observatory collapses ahead of planned demolition

The instrument platform of the 305-meter telescope at Arecibo Observatoryin Puerto Rico collapsed overnight, according to the National Science Foundation.

It's one of the most powerful telescopes on Earth that has aided astronomical discoveries for 57 years and withstood hurricanes, earthquakes and tropical storms.

Engineers assessed the damage and determined that all three of the telescope's support towers broke off, sending the 900-ton instrument platform plummeting down to the dish below. 

The telescope's support cables also dropped. The observatory's learning center was significantly damaged by the falling cables as well.

The collapse occurred just weeks after NSF announced that the telescope would be decommissioned and disassembled through a controlled demolition after sustaining irreparable damage earlier 2020.

来源：CNN、engadget、新华网、Twitter，图片来源于网络，如侵删。

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编辑：长谣监制：李璨
责任编辑：戴晨

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