Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is the world’s largest radio telescope, nestled in the limestone peaks of Pingtang County, China. Also known as the Eye of Heaven, the construction of FAST was completed in 2016. Its mission involves searching for extraterrestrial life, supplying further data on dark matter, and helping to map the Milky Way galaxy.
Nicknamed the Eye of Heaven, FAST consists of 4,450 triangular aluminum panels.
The mobile feed antenna of the telescope hangs by cables and can zoom around the dish, acting like an iris. It steers around the dish automatically by using winches and receives signals from different directions. For the telescope to function efficiently, the government also relocated 9,110 locals to create a three-mile quiet zone around the FAST. Nevertheless, crowds of tourists enjoy visiting the site. As a result, dozens of new hotels, restaurants, and even a theme park emerged to meet the accommodation needs. Unfortunately, these facilities will probably cause light and RF pollution that could interfere with telescopic observation.
