Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2016

INSTRUMENTS tries. The design and construc- tion of the gigantic instrument was managed by the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC), under the aegis of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The idea of building what would become the world’s biggest single disk radio tele- scope dates back to 1994 when it was submitted to the Chinese authorities, and the search im- mediately began for the ideal location to place the huge disk. Ten years later, the Chinese scientists concluded that the most suitable place coincided with a circular depression in the district of Pingtang, a rural area of the southeastern province of Guizhou, characterized by karst and moun- tainous territories which by nature already represent a valid shield against the inter- ference to radio frequencies accessible to FAST (from 70 MHz to 3 GHz). Unfortuna- T he map on the side indi- cates the place where FAST stands. Below, some people ob- serve the work in progress. Perhaps they once lived in that very valley: more than 9000 residents were moved to make way for FAST. tely, the chosen site wasn't uninhabited, so, after approval of the project by Nation- al Development and Reform Commission (July 2007), the Chinese authorities began to transfer the local population elsewhere.