Skip to main content

China’s alien-hunting telescope, the world’s largest, is now operational

If there is alien life out there, then this gargantuan radio telescope in China will likely find it.

After years in development, construction workers slotted into place the final piece of the 500-meter aperture spherical telescope (aka FAST) back in July. And following months of testing, FAST became fully operational on September 25. The giant telescope will aid in China’s quest to achieve “major advances and breakthroughs at the frontier of science,” China’s President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory message on Sunday. Calling the telescope the nation’s “eye in the sky,” Xi and other Chinese officials certainly have high hopes for the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope.

Recommended Videos

It’s a symbolic achievement for China, which is aiming to prove not only its economic well-being, but its scientific prowess as well. “Astronomy is an ultimate expression of ‘pure’ science that has little immediate practical benefits,” Luis C. Ho, the director of the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University, told the New York Times via email. “It is a luxury that only the most advanced economies enjoy.” And now, it’s a luxury that exists in the backyard of one of China’s most impoverished areas.

The telescope comprises 4,500 panels, each measuring about 11 meters (36 feet) in length and which together form an enormous dish. The design will allow researchers to make minute adjustments to the shape of the dish, enabling them to reflect faraway radio signals to a single focal point for detailed examination.

It’s big, really big

Suggesting that for astronomers, size really does matter, China’s gigantic radio telescope gives us the best chance yet of locating possible alien life in distant parts of the universe.

“With a larger signal receiving area and more flexibility, FAST will be able to scan two times more sky area than Arecibo [currently the largest operational radio telescope], with three to five times higher sensitivity,” National Astronomical Observatories chief scientist Li Di told the China Daily last year.

Besides detecting radio signals from billions of light years away, the telescope will also be able to spot new galaxies, extrasolar planets, and highly magnetic neutron stars, or pulsars. It is hoped that the gathered information will help scientists learn more about the evolution of our universe.

FAST is located in China’s south-western province of Guizhou, about 1,000 miles (1,610 km) south-west of Beijing. Its construction, at a cost of around $185 million, forms part of the nation’s efforts to create a full-fledged space program, a key ambition of its current leader, President Xi Jinping. Other plans include getting an astronaut to the moon and the creation of an orbiting space station, with construction planned to begin in 2018.

The telescope’s construction has resulted in the displacement of more than 2,000 families — around 9,000 people — living within three miles of the construction site. The government insisted that moving residents from the area was necessary in order to “create a sound electromagnetic wave environment” for the telescope. Officials handed each affected resident compensation of 12,000 yuan (about $1,800), equivalent to around half the average salary for Chinese workers, before resettling them in nearby locations.

While other huge radio telescopes have so far failed to find alien life, let’s hope FAST can happen upon something in the coming years to prove decisively that we are not alone.

Article originally published July 4, 2016. Updated on 09-25-2016 by Lulu Chang: Added news that FAST is now fully operational.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Scientists spot cyclical pattern in mysterious cosmic radio bursts
Lovell Telescope

A new study paints an unexpected picture of strange cosmic bursts that scientists have been researching since 2007, finding one that repeats in a 157-day pattern. These bursts last only a few milliseconds but are detectable from Earth due to their extremely high energy.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been observed in repeating patterns only once before, and have been discovered using artificial intelligence to sift through large amounts of telescope data. They have also been used as research tools themselves, shedding light on mysterious galactic halos and even helping to find the universe's missing matter.

Read more
You can now lease a Hyundai EV on Amazon—and snag that $7,500 tax credit
amazon autos hyundai evs lease ioniq 6 n line seoul mobility show 2025 mk08

Amazon has changed how we shop for just about everything—from books to furniture to groceries. Now, it’s transforming the way we lease cars. Through Amazon Autos, you can now lease a brand-new Hyundai entirely online—and even better, you’ll qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit if you choose an electric model like the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, or Kona EV.
Here’s why that matters: As of January 2025, Hyundai’s EVs no longer qualify for the tax credit if you buy them outright, due to strict federal rules about battery sourcing and final assembly. But when you lease, the vehicle is technically owned by the leasing company (Hyundai Capital), which allows it to be classified as a “commercial vehicle” under U.S. tax law—making it eligible for the credit. That savings is typically passed on to you in the form of lower lease payments.
With Amazon’s new setup, you can browse Hyundai’s EV inventory, secure financing, trade in your current vehicle, and schedule a pickup—all without leaving the Amazon ecosystem.
It’s available in 68 markets across the U.S., and pricing is fully transparent—no hidden fees or haggling. While Hyundai is so far the only automaker fully participating, more are expected to join over time.
Pioneered by the likes of Tesla, purchasing or leasing vehicles online has been a growing trend since the Covid pandemic.
A 2024 study by iVendi found that 74% of car buyers expect to use some form of online process for their next purchase. In fact, 75% said online buying met or exceeded expectations, with convenience and access to information cited as top reasons. The 2024 EY Mobility Consumer Index echoed this trend, reporting that 25% of consumers now plan to buy their next vehicle online—up from 18% in 2021. Even among those who still prefer to finalize the purchase at a dealership, 87% use online tools for research beforehand.
Meanwhile, Deloitte’s 2025 Global Automotive Consumer Study reveals that while 86% of U.S. consumers still want to test-drive a vehicle in person, digital tools are now a critical part of the buying journey.
Bottom line? Amazon is making it easier than ever to lease an EV and claim that tax credit—without the dealership hassle. If you're ready to plug in, it might be time to add to cart.

Read more
Humanoid robots race against humans at unique half-marathon in China
A humanoid robot running in a half marathon.

You may have seen robots dancing like the music icon Mick Jagger, doing parkour, or even painting on a canvas. Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot is eagerly anticipated, while Google and Meta are also planning to enter the field. The competition in the East, however, is on a different level altogether.

China just put humanoid robots to the test in the world’s first race of its kind, where they ran alongside humans in a half-marathon. A total of 21 robots lined up for the event in the Yizhuang half-marathon, following a long spell of supervised learning on roads. 

Read more