When China completes its newest telescope project in 2016, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), it will have a dish nearly half the size of a country (OK, only the world’s smallest country, Vatican City, but still). With FAST, scientists will be better equipped to study the universe and its mysteries, but other telescopes help research study the cosmos too, regardless of their size. Bigger isn’t always better—here are six other telescopes making astronomy better in ingenious ways.
Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.


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I do hope one day they find intelligent life in the cosmos!
Will China be the first country to find them with the five-hundred-meter aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST)? I wonder if this radio telescope could also have electronics to transmit, hmmm?!
Why does a Chinese telescope have and english acronym for a name, too? Did they get money and technology from the USA?
I hope one day, intelligent life from the cosmos will find intelligent life on Earth. Hahaaaaaaa
Why are hundreds of millions of US taxpayer dollars being spent on telescopes when there is not sufficient money to keep our airports operating?