China issues stamp commemorating world's largest radio telescope

China on Monday issued a commemorative stamp in honour of the world's largest radio telescope located in Guizhou province.

The State Post Bureau (SPB) has issued a set of five stamps, including one commemorating the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope priced at 1.2 yuan, reports Xinhua news agency.

The other four stamps honour China's quantum science experimental satellite "Mozi", the research vessel Tansuo-1, a national grain production project around the Bohai Sea and the Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer.

With an investment of 1.2 billion yuan, the telescope is single-dish with a diametre of half a kilometre.

It was built in the Dawodang depression, a natural karst basin in Pingtang county in Guizhou. The telescope is designed to probe space for the faintest signs of life and is sensitive to any electromagnetic interference.

Surrounding areas are open to visitors. But the number of visitors is strictly controlled below 2,000 people per day and electronic devices including cell phones and cameras are prohibited.

Since it began operation last September, it has received 240,000 visitors.

--IANS

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