Science and Technology Daily through China TechCity reported that China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) would begin its quest to explore outer space for aliens signals in September. Initially going into service for general science in January, the telescope will now also help in gathering information on the possibility of life forms in other galaxies.
According to chief scientist Zhang Tongjie, the search would not interrupt regular science commissions and that people probably shouldn't get their hopes up in discovering intelligent life in outer space soon.
He adds that while some interesting radio signals have been previously obtained, scientists don't think they actually came from life forms. However, if there are indeed extraterrestrial life forms broadcasting radio signals, FAST's performance will increase the possibility of astronomers receiving them.
China's Enormous FAST Telescope
FAST has a 500-meter diameter, but it only focuses on a 300-meter segment on the receiver at any given moment. The telescope was first launched in 2016 but has been subjected to testing and commissioning since then.
FAST is nicknamed "Tianyan", which means "Eye of Heaven" or "Eye of the Sky". It stands in a natural depression located in Guizhou, Southwest China.
FAST's science objectives include detecting interstellar molecules and communication signals, surveying large scale neutral hydrogen, leading the international VLBI network, and conducting pulsar observations.
So far, FAST had already detected two pulsars in August 2017. Substantially, the telescope has discovered 102 pulsars in just a little over two years. Moreover, FAST will also conduct two sky surveys which will take about five years, and another ten years to analyze the data gathered.
Experts say that FAST is a huge step forward for radio astronomy when it comes to sky coverage. It has augmented four times the volume of the space range that radio telescopes can adequately explore.
According to Li Kejia, a scientist at the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University, with FAST, scientists can now uncover more unknown stars, universal phenomena, laws of the universe, and even spot extraterrestrial life.
Where do Radio Signals rom Outer Space Come From?
Distinctive radio signals customarily come from pulsars or random fast radio bursts (FRB). A radio burst usually lasts milliseconds and comes from deep within outer space.
The first FRBs were determined over a decade ago. Speculations of their origins include cataclysmic events, particularly when two neutron stars collide with each other or a collapsing black hole.
Furthermore, astronomers have noticed an odd occurrence a few years back when radio bursts would repeat every 16 days. CNN previously reported that between September 16, 2018, and October 30, 2019, researchers with the CHIME Telescope or the Fast Radio Burst Project collaboration detected a pattern in bursts happening every 16.35 days.
Researchers believe that forthcoming observations could help them resolve if other repeating fast radio bursts have a pattern. Furthermore, it would help them determine if this kind of regularity is the exception or habitual behavior.
The latest detection was revealed in The Astronomer's Telegram. According to the report, the bright radio burst came from the active magnetar known as SGR 1935+2154.
Moreover, understanding different aspects of fast radio bursts can aid astronomers to gain more knowledge about the universe itself. The more bursts they can trace, the better they would utilize the signals to map how matter is dispersed across the universe.
