China is building the largest telescope in the world. The question is why he is doing it in secret

In the select club of first level astronomical observatories, all projects They are advertised to hype and saucer decades in advance. China instead is building a gigantic telescope of 14 and a half meters on the Tibetan plateau without having officially announced it.

US suspicions. An article of Wall Street Journal He has raised the hare. A telescope of that size would not only rival the most powerful observatories in the West, but, if it was terminated in time, it would temporarily become the largest terrestrial optical telescope in the world.

The question that, according to the Journal, resonates in Harvard’s halls and NASA is not whether they are building it, but why they do it stealthily.

The clues that arrive from China. Robert Kirshner, Emerrito Professor of Harvard and leader of the thirty -meter telescope, The American project that Spain now wantsit has been one of the main detectives in this plot. The clues, although discreet, are overwhelming:

• In January, the state company Nanjing Astronomical Instruments published on social networks that it had gained a tender of 22 million dollars to build the dome of a telescope with a mirror of 14.5 meters
• In April, some students who visited a scientific institute mentioned in another publication that the researchers had shown them the configuration of the mirrors for a telescope of that same size
• An outstanding Chinese astronomer declared state media that one of its objectives was to finish “the 14.5 meter telescope” before its retirement

Beijing has adopted a low profile. The anomalous thing about this case is that Chinese institutions also do not celebrate their technological sovereignty with the usual triumphalism in this type of project. China, which does not hesitate to celebrate other space milestones, here has opted for a low profile.

A clear trace of tenders. Technical documents are scattered, but paint a clear image of an advanced development project. The main test is the tender of its most visible component: the dome. A public announcement of the Chinese Academy of Sciences He was looking for offers for the “Project to Acquisition of the Dome of the Optical/Infrared Telescope of 14.5 m”, with a deadline set for November 2024.

On the other hand, a memorandum of China National Astronomical Observatory It justifies the purchase of infrared detectors, describing the project as “a great astronomical telescope to achieve the top of science and technology.” In parallel, published job offers For “the general purpose of the general major caliber in construction in our country.” I even looked for personnel for the system engineering file managementan unequivocal sign that the design phase had given way to the construction.

Why not announce it then? Matt Mountain, president of the Aura organization, which manages the Observatorios Hubble and James Webb for NASA, raises two hypotheses. The first is military: A telescope capable of obtaining crisp images of a galaxy to millions of light years can also observe with an unprecedented resolution The spy satellites of other nations in space. The domain of heaven is not only scientific, but also strategic, as We have been seeing in the Earth’s orbit For years.

The second hypothesis is a long -term play for technological leadership. Mountain describes it brilliantly: “Astronomy is the entrance drug for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.” Investing in inspiring projects such as a giant telescope is the best way to encourage a whole generation of young people to study Stem races, ensuring that China can overcome the United States in the coming decades.

The biggest telescope for a while. To understand the magnitude of this project, you have to put it in context. The Hubble space telescope mirror measures 2.4 meters; The Webb, 6.5 meters. The four largest optical telescopes on Earth are around 10 meters in diameter. If China completes its 14.5 meter telescope soon, it would dwarf all existing observatories until the new generation They will see the light.

Precisely these days the thirty -meter telescope (TMT) has been on everyone’s mouth (TMT) that the United States was going to build in Hawaii. After becoming one of the victims of Trump’s science cuts, the Government of Spain has offered 400 million euros To be built on the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands. Although its final location is yet to be decided.

Image | Universidad de Pekín

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