Five hundred meter Aperture
Spherical Telescope (FAST)

 

The Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is a radio telescope under construction in a natural basin in southwest China.  It will have 4600 triangular panels and be similar in design to the Arecibo Observatory, utilizing a natural hollow (karst) to provide support for the telescope dish. It will use an active surface that adjusts to create parabolas in different directions, with an effective dish size of 300 m. This means that it will not be confined to pointing directly upwards, but capable of covering the sky within 40 degrees from the zenith. Its working frequency will be 0.3 to 3.0 GHz, with a pointing precision of 4 arcseconds.

The Caltech Microwave Group is interested in building one of its receivers, as described here.