An estimated 9,110 Chinese villagers will soon be forced from their homes for the sake of finding extraterrestrial life. China's state news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday that the installation of what The New York Times reports to be "the world's biggest radio telescope" in Pingtang and Luodian Counties in the southwestern province of Guizhou necessitates that everyone in a three-mile radius relocate. The telescope, which measures 1,640 feet in diameter, is being installed to detect signs of alien life by reportedly picking up radio signals from "distant corners of the universe," The New York Times reports.
Officials say they will give each dislocated person the equivalent of $1,800 in housing compensation. Construction of the telescope, whose technical name is the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), is expected to be completed by September. It will cost an estimated $184 million.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Taiwan eyes Iron Dome-like defence against ChinaUnder the Radar President announces historic increase in defence spending as Chinese aggression towards autonomous island escalates
-
Political cartoons for November 30Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the Saudi-China relationship, MAGA spelled wrong, and more
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
