“We can always encounter new discoveries and surprises at Dawodang. It is a place full of peace and quietness. The mystery and magnificence of the attractive universe call us to step over the mediocrity and feel its endless vastness,” wrote Nan Rendong, an astronomer and the initiator of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) during the construction of the China’s Tianyan or “Sky Eye”.

The unique Dawodan is discovered on Earth after 12 yearsof searching

The idea of building the FAST was initially put forward in 1993, and it was finally completed on September 25, 2016. Nan Rendong has put all his heart and soul into FAST for the next generation of scientists, aiming to push China into the top tier in radio astronomy.

When selecting a site for FAST, Nan boldly recommended the karst depression in Guizhou Province. He spent 50 hours travelling between Beijing and Guizhou by train, and climbed mountains off the beaten track with young people. It took 12 years to select the location for FAST. Nan said, “Dawodang stood out from more than 300 depressions. After multidisciplinary investigations into topography, engineering geology and hydrogeology, we finally found a perfect, unique site on earth for FAST.”

To people’s satisfaction, just over one year after the construction of FAST, it discovered dozens of high-quality pulsar candidates during the commissioning phase. By the end of 2018, 59 newly-discovered pulsars had been internationally confirmed, a landmark breakthrough in the discovery of pulsars made by Chinese telescopes. Before that, Chinese telescopes had not found a pulsar.

FAST is the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, 500 meters in diameter. The receiving surface area is equivalent to 30 standard football fields. It takes nearly 40 minutes to walk around the side of the pot. Hu Yuqian, a docent, told the reporter, “We have a vivid metaphor to describe the super pot: if you use it for cooking, people all over the world can have two bowls of rice.”

An asteroid is named “Pingtang”

Since the beginning of site selection, Pingtang County has cooperated with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to choose locations, provide coordinated service for construction, and actively helped in infrastructure security including water, electricity and roads for FAST construction. In order to protect FAST, Pingtang County readjusted its development plan and strictly reviewed and prudently approved projects in Ningjing District. Besides, Pingtang also widely publicized the protection of electromagnetic environment to raise the public’s awareness of protecting FAST. In addition, the base stations and marble mines around the core area of FAST were closed, and all projects here were stopped from attracting investment. Meanwhile, vegetation restoration in the mines was carried out so as to effectively serve the operation of FAST.

In turn, the construction of FAST is also changing Pingtang. Lots of residents joined the building of FAST, contributing their “Pingtang Strength”. Hu Yuqian is one of them. She told reporters that the completion of FAST has greatly boosted local economy. Once backward Pingtang now has been a well-known place attracting many visitors every day, which makes her feel quite proud. In her memory, Pingtang lacked a clear development direction, but now it has been built as a county of astronomy as well as tourism. With many jobs provided, young people like her can have a chance to work in their hometown.

Tao Lu is also a local docent. Speaking of the construction of FAST, she was deeply impressed by the fact that FAST has broadened local children’s horizons. “FAST gets children to know that there is not only the earth but also outer space in the universe. They can learn about what research scientists are conducting, arousing their imagination on distant space. They may have an interest in astronomy and scientific research in the future. This is really meaningful to children,” said Tao.

Approved by Committee on Small Body Nomenclature of International Astronomical Union, the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences named the NO.92209 asteroid as “Pingtang” in memory of the construction of FAST, and contributions of Pingtang and its people to the building and protecting of the surroundings of FAST.