The World’s Largest Alien-Hunting Telescope Gets Switched On For The First Time

China’s “FAST” (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope) is powered up and ready to find some aliens.

This thing is massive. Like, ginormously huge. At 500 meters, the FAST dwarfs the next biggest telescope in line – Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory, which measures in at just 305 meters.

When it comes to telescopes, size does matter. The bigger the dish, the wider the field of vision and the higher the sensitivity. I mean, if we do end up detecting distant radio signals from advanced civilizations, we’re going to want a clear signal.

“FAST’s potential to discover an alien civilization will be five to 10 times that of current equipment, as it can see farther and darker planets,” said Peng Bo, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories.

But even if there in fact no other intelligent life forces out there, the FAST will still prove exceedingly useful in helping scientists track gravitational waves, or ripples in space-time, which could help unravel the mysteries of our universe’s beginnings.

China’s astronomers obviously get first dibs on this telescopic behemoth, but after two to three years, it will be opened to scientists around the world.

What you aim this monster telescope at if you were at the wheel?

[ H/T Gizmodo ]