China is once again demonstrating its interest in space by announcing the imminent launch of its project to research intelligent life forms in space. A quest for which China will make use of its immense spherical telescope with 500 meters of opening, the FAST.
It is currently the most powerful and sensitive radio telescope in the world. If its construction was completed in 2016, the device did not officially enter into service until January, after several years of testing. The device has many advanced technologies that will allow scientists to sort the signals received, reduce interference and determine which ones are coming from another solar system. "Most of the signals we see - 99% of them - are miscellaneous noises, so we have to take our time to identify the signals we want in noises," said Zhu Ming, director of the observations division. and data at the FAST operations and development center.
Random and imprecise discipline
The extraterrestrial lifeform research project will officially start next September. You should not expect immediate results. The process on which the FAST is based is nothing new and its operation is in reality particularly random and imprecise, despite the increased power and sensitivity of the latter. Indeed, its task will be to scan the space in search of radio signals. However, these could come from simple spatial reactions and in no way from extraterrestrial. Scientists will need to determine where the signals come from.
The FAST radio telescope - Photo credit: AFP
FAST chief engineer Jiang Peng said in a statement that the telescope would be improved over the next three years. It is notably a question of improving its effective observation time by 50%.
The radiotelescope, a marvel of engineering, will not only be intended for the search for extraterrestrials. It is at the heart of many space projects more ambitious than each other and this new use will not interrupt regular scientific missions. Currently, FAST is used to observe astronomical objects (pulsars). It will also detect interstellar molecules and investigate the origins of the universe.
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