The FAST radio astronomy dish (Tianyan), in People’s Republic of China (PRC), is now the largest antenna in the world, beating the United States’ Arecibo dish. Over 500 meters in diameter, it is designed for medium and short wavelength studies of the cosmos, addressing issues of universe-origins, pulsars and collapsed stars, galaxy formation, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), among others. Link: https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/05/china-fast-radio-telescope-construction-complete/
Hams had access to Arecibo at times, I wonder if the Chinese will do the same and maybe do some Mars Bounce.
Copying KP4AO off the moon with an Arrow beam and FT-817 was quite a hoot back in 2010. Unfortunately, unlike Arecibo, it appears this new one is SWL-only, all ear and no mouth, ie, not designed for any transmitters. However, quite impressive looking, with steerability to cover lots more sky and up to 10 db more gain. and built for only $180MM! Breathtaking how non-democratic societies can get such monumental things done with well skilled workers yet forced low labor rates as well as pulling an eminent domain move to just push 10K residents out of the quiet zone! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_hundred_meter_Aperture_Spherical_Telescope
yeh, it sucks, that:-( Sad day for American science. We have lost our way, and dont know how to get back.
I don't see this as a win for them, on the scientific or political stage. Wasteful government spending, run amok, isn't good even in a communist dictatorship. I can't claim to know that our own exploration in this area has substantially benefitted our quality of life, or answered existential questions.
Several hams used their own antennas and radios to illuminate Arecibo in the mid 60-70's. The hardest part was working around the schedules of the paying users to get dish time.
Hi Chip, I think we should take advantage of the situation and try to get SETI and other world wide efforts to petition the Chinese for air time. It may seem counter productive at first, however they're going to just continue the technology race ad infinitum. Might as well take advantage of an opportunity that could lead to further cooperation with the Chinese (Mars mission, moon base) since we don't seem to be doing this on our own ...just a thought. 73, Rich - W1RV
Hi Rich-- The Chinese are politely making it clear they can do this themselves....and are considering this a speculative effort, that when it pans out, will place them at the top of the worlds stage. Who can blame them? That used to be us. 73 Chip W1YW
We won't find anything or anybody unless we look. We might never find another intelligent species in the universe, but even knowing how rare that is could make preserving ours more precious.
My point exactly. If we push for a 'collaborative' effort while we're still ahead it may lead to a more promising future for all involved. If we close them off and refuse to deal with them entirely we're assuring their future and limiting ours ... We've done this in the past with other countries with disastrous results. (Vietnam comes to mind) On the other hand, while being somewhat communicative with the USSR we saw the fall of the Berlin wall.
