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Where Is the World's Largest Telescope?
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Quick Answer
China's FAST radio telescope, with a 500-metre dish, is the largest single-aperture telescope.
The Full Story
The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in Guizhou Province, China, is the world's largest single-aperture radio telescope. Completed in 2016, its dish spans 500 metres — about the size of 30 football pitches. FAST replaced Puerto Rico's 305-metre Arecibo telescope, which collapsed in 2020. In optical astronomy, the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), under construction in Chile's Atacama Desert, will have a 39-metre primary mirror and is expected to see first light around 2028.
Key Facts
1.FAST's dish is nestled in a natural karst depression, reducing construction needs.
2.It can detect radio signals from over 10 billion light-years away.
3.FAST has already discovered over 900 pulsars since beginning operations.
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"China's Giant Eye — Inside the FAST Radio Telescope"