Chinese telescopes. Construction of an amateur telescope from Chinese components

The signal is one strong and fast, and the other slow and weak, as if the heartbeats of a young man and an old man passed a thousand light years and were heard by the most sensitive “ear” on Earth. The Ear is a 500-meter radius spherical radio telescope (FAST), which is the largest in the world. The area of ​​its antenna bowl is comparable in size to the area of ​​30 football fields. The structure is located in one of the valleys of Guizhou province in southwest China.

Chinese 500-meter telescope FAST

While the telescope was being debugged and in trial mode after its commissioning in 2016, FAST discovered dozens of possible pulsed sources of radio emission - pulsars, six of which were confirmed when studied by telescopes in other countries. Chinese scientists managed to record the sound from the first two discovered pulsars. The sounds that were obtained are called “heartbeats” in the depths of the Universe.

Using the telescope, it is planned to study and detect pulsars, neutral hydrogen, interstellar molecules, as well as possible signs of extraterrestrial life. Searching for extraterrestrial life is another goal of the FAST telescope, but scientists have not yet begun this task.

However, one of the pulsars that FAST discovered was this moment not decrypted. The first signal was received back in 1967 and was mistakenly taken for a signal from aliens.

What is a pulsar?

A pulsar is a rotating neutron star with high magnetic properties, which emits two electromagnetic beam. Such rays can only be detected when they are directed towards the Earth, just as the light of a lighthouse can be seen by the one at whom it is strictly directed.

Pulsars are also called neutron stars. A neutron star is the collapsing core of a huge star. Of all famous stars A neutron star is the smallest and densest. It is so dense that one teaspoon of its mass can weigh as much as a mountain 3000 meters high.

Thanks to super strong gravity and electromagnetic fields the pulsar is seen as a natural laboratory with extreme physical conditions. Pulsars can help scientists study gravitational waves. FAST will help improve the chances of detecting low-frequency gravitational waves.

Pulsars have a very precise pulse interval, ranging from milliseconds to several seconds, which is why they are considered the most accurate astronomical clocks in the Universe. Scientists believe that one day pulsars could be used as cosmic "beacons" for navigation during interplanetary or interstellar travel.

The first two pulsars were recorded by the FAST telescope on the night of August 22 and on the night of August 25. But experts do not remember the detection scenario in precise detail, because FAST had already detected a dozen pulsar-like objects thanks to its high sensitivity. “To be honest, we can detect a lot of pulsar-like objects every night.”

When the first pulsar was discovered half a century ago, China was in turmoil and poverty. As a result, the Celestial Empire did not take part in any of the approximately 2,700 discoveries made in this area.

But today China is building a fairly wealthy society and has the opportunity to explore mysterious celestial bodies and try to find answers to questions such as “How was the universe created?”, “Where did we come from?”, “Are we alone in the universe?”

To borrow leadership positions In global astronomy, Chinese scientists need advanced research tools. The launch of the FAST radio telescope, the largest structure in the history of Chinese space exploration, cost the country $182 million. The project took about 20 years to implement, and highly qualified scientists and engineers from China were involved.

Now world scientists are welcoming China to the pulsar research club. Chinese experts predict that after FAST works on full power in 2019, they will be able to discover more than a hundred pulsars per year. The telescope is expected to double the number of pulsars we currently know. It is also planned to detect 50 to 80 pulsars in M31, the closest galaxy to the Milky Way. This is the only telescope in the world capable of accomplishing this task.

This year is a turning point for the Chinese space community: on June 15, in order to detect pulsars and black holes, the Chinese telescope was launched to work with hard x-ray radiation Hard X-ray, which is orbital station. With the launch of the FAST telescope, China managed to find itself in the future: “The Era constant study pulsars, thanks Chinese telescope, has just begun and we hope that FAST will become an important tool for the science of all mankind,” is something the astronomical community says.

A multi-beam receiver will be installed on the telescope to increase its functionality several times. This means that it will be possible to collect data on pulsars, conduct spectral analysis and quickly scan for radio bursts. Thanks to this technique, scientists will be able to detect more than 1,000 pulsars, more than 100,000 galaxies and a dozen rapid bursts of radio emission.
“We will rely on the latest equipment and advanced research methods to continually make new discoveries. This is the dawn of a new era. For humans, exploring something new is as much a daily need as eating or sleeping. Exploring the unknown will inspire creativity in humanity, make us achieve unprecedented achievements and inspire our imagination to find new paths, which is essentially priceless,” say Chinese scientists.

A little more than a year ago, the world's largest radio telescope, FAST, a spherical radio telescope with a five-hundred-meter aperture, began operating in China. It was built with the aim of studying the origins and evolution of our universe. In addition, the telescope is expected to be able to study the formation and movement of galaxies, gravitational waves and dark matter, as well as molecules of interstellar space.

First discovery

Despite great amount Conflicting information, including that thousands of people lost their land due to the construction of the telescope and that China did not have enough specialists to successfully launch it, FAST worked for a full year. Just recently, lab leaders published his first findings. They became pulsars - neutron stars, which rotate around their (slightly tilted) axis at enormous speed.

The importance of the telescope for science

According to the Chinese newspaper China Daily, the telescope was able to detect several dozen previously unknown pulsars. The existence and location of some of them was confirmed by a radio observatory in Australia.

According to the director of the FAST radio telescope, such results are a clear demonstration of the successful work of the observatory and specialists. Findings like these suggest that FAST will be extremely useful to the global scientific community, as it is powerful enough to sense signals from pulsars far beyond our galaxy.

In addition, the sensitivity of the radio telescope ensures that it will prove to be an important tool in studying the evolution of the universe and its mysterious composition ( dark matter and dark energy).

The telescope's sensitivity to radio waves emitted by pulsars also demonstrates the likelihood that FAST will be useful in further studies of gravitational waves.

Anticipation of future discoveries

It is expected that the Chinese FAST radio telescope will be able to double the number of known pulsars in the galaxy Milky Way. Today, we know of 2,700 pulsars within our galaxy, the first of which was discovered in 1967.

In addition to searching for radio waves emitted by pulsars as they rotate, the telescope is searching for signals from alien life forms. Experts do not place great hopes on discovering an extraterrestrial civilization; instead, they strive to find as much as possible more possibilities and areas in which FAST could be useful to modern astrophysics.

For example, very soon the radio telescope will begin searching for and studying complex interstellar molecules, as well as neutral hydrogen located in the vastness of the universe.

The FAST radio telescope is a spherical radio telescope with a five-hundred-meter aperture, which is literal translation With English phrases: "Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope", abbreviated as "FAST". Unofficial Chinese name telescope located in Guizhou Province, Heavenly Eye (天眼). In addition to promising scientific research, the science project should demonstrate China's ambitions in space exploration.

Construction of this telescope was completed in July 2016, and required five years and 180 million dollars. Since the completion of construction, the FAST Observatory has received honorary title radio telescope with a filled aperture of the largest diameter, namely 500 meters. Thus, FAST surpassed another giant radio telescope, which remained the largest for 53 years, with an aperture diameter of 304.8 meters.

Speaking about the largest radio telescopes with empty aperture, then this niche is still occupied by the Russian RATAN-600 (576 m.).

Design

The design of the FAST telescope is in many ways similar to the Arecibo Observatory. Its aperture consists of 4,450 perforated aluminum plates triangular shape side 11 meters. These plates are arranged in a geodesic dome on suspended steel cables forming a grid. The entire aperture is located in a natural recess - sinkhole. It is noteworthy that the depression itself is formed in the mountains, at an altitude of about 1 km above sea level, which also has a positive effect on the quality of observations carried out by FAST in the future.

Unlike Arecibo Observatory's static aperture, each panel of the FAST radio telescope is capable of changing its position using hydraulic actuators that move a grid of tethers.

Above the dish-shaped reflector there is a movable cabin, which is moved by cable robots. The receiving antennas located in the center of the “dish” are also movable, as they are installed on a movable platform (Hugh-Stewart).

Characteristics

According to information received from Chinese media, the FAST telescope has twice the sensitivity of the Arecibo radio telescope, and also more than five times high speed exploration of the sky.

The frequency range that the radio telescope covers is from 70 MHz – 3 GHz. The FAST radio telescope can be focused in a direction that, together with the zenith, forms an angle of at least 40°.

Although FAST is called a spherical radio telescope with a 500-meter aperture, it is clearly not spherical in shape, and the effective diameter of its reflector (radius of curvature) is 300 meters. And while Arecibo can make full use of its 305-meter aperture when observing at the zenith, it often observes objects at an angle, where the effective aperture is only 221 meters. Because the FAST radio telescope's reflector is much deeper than Arecibo's, it expands the field of view for observations.

Yet despite FAST's superior performance, Arecibo remains a leader in some types of research. For example, the study of the earth's ionosphere, the study inner planets solar system, as well as carrying out precise measurements of the orbits of asteroids in the vicinity of the Earth. Similar studies are available at the Arecibo Observatory due to the presence of transmitters and other special equipment, which is not on the FAST radio telescope. In addition, the latter is located 7.5° north of the Arecibo Observatory. With this closer location of the observatory to the equator, its field of view includes slightly more cosmic bodies, than in the field of view of FAST.

Implications for science and the public

The scientific community intends to use the FAST radio telescope to search for, capture radio emission from, and also to detect extraterrestrial signals of artificial origin.

For the first couple of years, this telescope is available only to Chinese scientists and specialists, after which it will be open to the international scientific community.

Despite the fact that in order to prevent radio interference within a radius of five kilometers, the authorities resettled more than 9 thousand residents with subsequent payment of compensation, various tourist facilities were built near the observatory, which will allow interested parties to attend excursions to the largest radio telescope in the world. For example, the Arecibo Observatory is visited annually by about 200 scientists and 90 thousand tourists from all over the world.

Most often, when it comes to the “best” category, it belongs to either the Arabs or the Chinese, and quite often they take the palm from each other. Whatever is created in the world, one of these guys will always make it bigger, more expensive, higher, more futuristic and generally larger-scale. Not long ago, the Chinese managed to become one of the top three owners of the world's largest radio telescopes, where the FAST telescope with its size took second place.

In the list of the largest radio telescopes, the FAST telescope is inferior in size to the Russian RATAN-600, which is in Karachay-Cherkessia, not far from the village of Zelenchukskaya, at an altitude of 970 meters, with a collective area of ​​12 thousand m² and a diameter of 576 meters. However, the RATAN-600 antenna type has a ring-shaped shape, and the FAST telescope has a fixed spherical shape, and by this type it is the largest in the world, with the largest collecting area, overtaking the American Arecibo, in Puerto Rico.

The FAST telescope stands for “Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope”, which means “Radio telescope with a five hundred meter aperture”; the Chinese call this technique Tianyang, which means “Eye of Heaven”. The radio telescope was built in Guizhou Province, southwest China. To reduce the cost of construction, the FAST telescope was made in the “Earth Bowl” classification, that is, they used the reflector as a base natural relief terrain.

The Daodang karst basin in Qiannan Bui Miao was most suitable for the construction of a radio telescope mirror Autonomous Okrug, the diameter of which is 800 meters. A rim was made above the surface of the basin on which a network of steel cables was placed, covered with perforated triangular aluminum panels, the number of which was 4450 units. Thus, the FAST telescope received a total physical diameter of 500 meters, of which the effective diameter is 300 meters. The collecting area of ​​the radio telescope was about 190 thousand m².

To focus radio waves, the FAST telescope was equipped with a receiver suspended above a mirror with a focal length of 140 meters. To understand the scale, a 45-story building can be placed in the space from the reflector to the receiver! The receiver cabin is able to move through cables and servomechanisms, which are secondarily adjusted by robots for more accurate reception. The entire system of cables and servomechanisms is attached to six high support towers. The FAST telescope also has a system that allows focusing at any point in space within a deviation of ± 40 ° from the zenith.

As for the history of the project, the idea to build the FAST telescope was first put forward in 1994, but it was approved only in July 2007 by the National Development and Reform Commission. First, villages and residents living within a 5-kilometer radius of the project were resettled. At the end of 2008, the first foundation laying took place. Construction of the structure itself began in March 2011, lasting 5 years until July 2016. The FAST telescope cost China $180 million.

How to choose a telescope on aliexpress and not make a mistake in choosing

Since childhood, many people have dreamed of observing stars, planets and other celestial bodies. But buying a personal telescope until recently was an unaffordable luxury for most of us. However, with the advent of inexpensive Chinese stores in general and AliExpress in particular, the situation has changed radically. Now almost everyone can afford to buy telescope on aliexpress. And not just any toy, but a real powerful device that provides excellent visibility of space objects.

AliExpress offers customers not only affordable prices, but also a huge range of these devices. The range of prices from the cheapest models to the most expensive is also extremely wide. Each telescope is good in its own way and is also suitable for certain purposes. How to choose the optimal model and not regret the money spent? You will learn about this here.

There are many online stores where you can purchase a telescope. But purchasing a device through the aliexpress platform has a number of advantages:

• Prices. You will not find such low prices anywhere else for these devices, or for any other products either. Skeptics can talk as much as they want about the low quality of “Chinese junk”, but this myth has been debunked by millions of satisfied customers. Modest prices and excellent quality products are combined here more often than anywhere else.
• Choice. Few specialized stores can boast such a wide range of these devices that is available on AliExpress. This is understandable: many stores sell their goods on the AliExpress trading platform, each of which has its own assortment. All you have to do is choose best telescopes from those proposed.
• Guarantees. The “buyer protection” function ensures timely delivery of goods or allows you to return funds in case of unfulfilled obligations by the seller.

In general, ordering expensive equipment from Aliexpress is quite profitable. Even after a sharp drop in the exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar, shopping on AliExpress is still much more profitable than in other online stores.

Device selection

Before choosing a model, you should decide on the tasks for which you are going to purchase a telescope. There is a category of devices intended for children. They have low characteristics and the same price tags, but they cope flawlessly with the tasks assigned to them. But choosing a device from other categories is quite difficult. There are a couple of important factors to take into account.

If you want to give a gift to a child, then you won’t have to agonize over the choice for long: all children’s models have similar characteristics, and they don’t differ much in price. A children's telescope is a very useful gift that will help a child in his development, as well as knowledge of the world around him, which will subsequently certainly affect his character, interests, outlook and even level of intelligence. It is better to instill in a person from childhood a love for science and the beauty of celestial bodies, truly filling his leisure time useful activities rather than letting him hang around aimlessly for hours computer games or in social networks. For beginner astronomers, it is not necessary to buy a children's model. A regular model with average performance will be fine.

When choosing a device, you should ask yourself two questions:

1. Where am I going to use the telescope?
2. What do I want to look at with it?

There are many places where you can look at celestial bodies using a telescope. The best of them are open country areas on hills. However, not everyone has the opportunity to get out into nature and spend hours looking at the stars. If you have a good telescope, from such sites you can not only see the Moon, but also consider the planets of the solar system or even objects deep space. Just keep in mind that powerful devices They weigh quite a lot, and therefore you will need a car to transport them.

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Apartments, private houses, as well as any area in cities (especially large ones) are less suitable for observing space objects, but you will not have to take the device anywhere again. Since sky visibility within the city is very poor, expensive telescopes will not be able to fully reveal all their qualities. Therefore, in such a situation, it is better to buy a device with average characteristics so as not to overpay.

Another significant factor when choosing a model will be the tasks for which the device is purchased. What can you see through a telescope? Objects of the Solar System, deep space. If you are a beginner, and also just want to occasionally look at the Moon or the planets closest to Earth, then you, of course, do not need an expensive and powerful model. However, if you decide to purchase a more powerful device in the future, you can simply improve your existing device by purchasing new eyepieces. For an amateur, a mid-priced model is perfect.

Telescopes can also be used to view various terrestrial objects. They are often purchased for observation platforms in the city limits and beyond. If your home has a picturesque view, then purchasing a device for this purpose would be a completely reasonable idea.

Well, for serious research and scientific work You will need a model with a hefty price tag. There are also such devices on AliExpress. You just need to carefully study the parameters of the selected device model: aperture, focal length, magnification, viewing angle. Also, do not forget to pay attention to product reviews and seller ratings. People who regularly buy goods through Aliexpress should know this.

Types of telescopes

According to their design, telescopes are divided into 3 types:

1. Lens (refractor). This device has a classic design like a telescope. It features the highest level of reliability and ease of operation. Best suited for observing medium-range objects - the Moon and planets of the Solar System. Can be used to view ground objects.
2. Mirror (reflector). The device has a wide pipe diameter. It uses mirrors instead of lenses. The eyepiece is on the side. Reflectors allow you to view distant objects. For example, with their help you can see dim objects of deep space: nebulae, galaxies, etc. These devices are difficult to set up and operate and require regular adjustment. They are also distinguished by their respectable size. Excellent for astronomy, including serious research.
3. Mirror-lens (catadioptric). This is a device mixed type, which combines the advantages of the above devices. Usually has small dimensions and excellent optical capabilities. True, such a device has a fairly high price.

It is best to select the device directly according to technical specifications. There are 3 main parameters on which the power of the device depends, as well as its price. These are aperture, focal length and magnification (zoom). Large zoom and other parameters high level- these are signs of a truly powerful device. Accordingly, than better characteristics, the more expensive the telescope will be.

Aperture is the diameter of the pipe. Most often, this parameter is indicated in the model name. For example, the Celestron PowerSeeker 70 mm EQ has a diameter of 70 millimeters. The higher this value, the more distant and faint objects can be seen with a telescope. This parameter also affects overall quality image and its clarity. An aperture of more than 200 mm is considered an indicator of a high-class device.

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Focal length- this is the distance that a beam of light travels in the device. The value of this parameter affects the zoom capabilities. A good telescope usually has a solid focal length. There is another important parameter - viewing angle. This characteristic is inversely proportional to the focal length.

The magnification directly depends on the eyepieces used, as well as on the above parameters. If the pipe diameter is multiplied by 2, the maximum magnification value will be obtained without loss of image quality. Respectively, the most important parameters of a telescope are aperture and focal length. And the increase largely depends on them. In addition, the zoom can be increased over time by purchasing various parts.