2016年CRI World's largest radio telescope ＂can shed first light＂ in exploring universe: astronomers

 

The Five-hundred-meter wide Aperture¹ Spherical² Telescope, or FAST, is now operational in the mountains of Guizhou in southwest China.

FAST has been designed to help Chinese researchers better understand our universe, as well as probe the cosmos³ for extraterrestrial life.

With a reflector the size of 30 football fields as the main structure, scientists have described FAST as a super-sensitive "ear" capable of spotting very weak messages from space.

Wang Qingming, the telescope's electro-mechanical system's chief engineer, says the size of the reflector is important.

"When we follow a star, the reflector must compensate⁴ for the rotation⁵ of the earth, so that it always points to the star. Through our technology, the reflector will be able to observe the stars for an extended period of time."

Though the structure itself is too big to move, each of FAST's over 4-thousand triangular⁶ panels can be adjusted toward different angles to point at different parts of the sky.

While the sheer size of the facility is impressive, Zhu Lichun, the person in-charge of FAST's measurement and control systems, says its the precision of the instruments at their facility in Guizhou which is truly important.

"While everyone tends to focus their attention on how grand the structure is, what's most impressive about FAST is its precision. You have to reach this level of precision on this level of scale, at a stipulated⁷ time, this is what's really difficult to achieve."

Among the tasks being conducted by the FAST telescope include observing pulsars, as well as research into interstellar molecules⁸ and communication signals.

Peter Wilkinson, professor of Radio Astronomy at the University of Manchester in the U.S., says FAST can do 2 particular things much better than any other telescope in the world.

"One, is to study the radiation from the simplest element in the universe, which is hydrogen - hydrogen gas all through the universe, and it tells us all sorts of things about the way things are moving in the universe. And the second big thing is pulsars and things going bang in the sky. Turns out they are the most accurate clocks in the universe it enables you to look for gravitational waves, one of the predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity."

Scientists have suggested the potential of FAST to detect alien life will be five to ten times greater than the equipment which has been used in the past.

The construction of the 180-million-U.S. dollar project began in 2011, 17 years after the original plan was originally conceived.

The installation of the main structure was completed in early July.

FAST's conclusion and work is being monitored at the highest levels in China, with Chinese President Xi Jinping sending off a note to scientists, engineers and builders of the giant telescope.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

1 aperture   

n.孔，隙，窄的缺口

参考例句：

• The only light came through a narrow aperture.仅有的光亮来自一个小孔。
• We saw light through a small aperture in the wall.我们透过墙上的小孔看到了亮光。

2 spherical   

adj.球形的；球面的

参考例句：

• The Earth is a nearly spherical planet.地球是一个近似球体的行星。
• Many engineers shy away from spherical projection methods.许多工程师对球面投影法有畏难情绪。

3 cosmos   

n.宇宙；秩序，和谐

参考例句：

• Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
• Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

4 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

5 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

6 triangular   

adj.三角（形）的，三者间的

参考例句：

• It's more or less triangular plot of land.这块地略成三角形。
• One particular triangular relationship became the model of Simone's first novel.一段特殊的三角关系成了西蒙娜第一本小说的原型。

7 stipulated   

vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的

参考例句：

• A delivery date is stipulated in the contract. 合同中规定了交货日期。
• Yes, I think that's what we stipulated. 对呀，我想那是我们所订定的。 来自辞典例句

8 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。