China has built a radio telescope the size of 30 soccer fields to look for aliens

China has built a radio telescope the size of 30 soccer fields to look for aliens China has finished the installation of the world's largest radio telescope, according to reports from state media. The last of the telescope's 4,450 triangular panels was fitted into the dish this weekend, ahead of the telescope's planned launch in September. The Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (or FAST) is the size of 30 soccer fields, and has taken over five years and $180 million to build. "The telescope is of great significance for humans to explore the universe and extraterrestrial civilisations," said Chinese science fiction writer and Hugo Award-winner Liu Cixin during the final installation. "I hope scientists can make epoch-making discoveries." Hopefully they have read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and are all ready for contact! The only thing is that our planet rotates around its sun so this won't be reading any static messages. One wonders if this should be built in space itself so that it can be tuned to listen to specific areas? The Universe is a pretty big place..... See http://ift.tt/29oHgXI