TheFutureofAmericanRadioAstronomyDependsonChina

InthehillsofChina’sGuizhouprovince,anaturalrockbowlcradlestheworld’slargestsingle-dishradiotelescope.Thisinstrument,calledFAST—theFive-Hundred-MeterApertureSphericalRadioTelescope—is,asitsnamesuggests,meters,orabout1,feet,across,asizethathelpsscientistsdetectmoredistantandfainterobjects.AndinlateMarch,FASTbeganacceptingscientificproposalsfrominternationalastronomers.

Thetimingcouldn’thavebeenbetter.InAugust,asupportcableonthenext-largesttelescopeofthissort—partoftheAreciboObservatoryinPuertoRico,theonlytelescopeofitsclassintheUnitedStates—snapped.Anothercablefollowedafewmonthslater.Then,inDecember,withapuffofdust,themassiveinstrumentplatformthathungabovethetelescopecrasheddown,destroyingthe-meterdish.

Qiuleadsthe