When GDP is falling and the global economy is weak, there are normally many let's say, "out of the box" ideas on how to stimulate growth again - aside from central planners tripping over each other to see who can print money the fastest that is.

For China, one would assume that more ghost cities are being built, or new projects are being constructed in order to stop Beijing from sinking, but one project that has taken place that many may not have known about is the construction of the world's largest radio telescope.

As RT reports, China has now completed construction on the world's largest radio telescope. The Single-Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) as it is known, is an enormous dish made up of 4,450 reflector panels with a diameter of a half a kilometer, which is larger than the previous record holder, Puerto Rico's Arcibo Observatory.

It was completed in southwestern China's Guizhou Province on Sunday, when the last reflector was fitted into a natural bunker, which is situated among the mountains of Pingtang County.

The task of the telescope? According to RT, it is to be used to look for intelligent life in deep outer space. Once operational, FAST will be able to detect radio signals from as far away as one thousand light years - evidently that's where the aliens are.

Work began on the project in March of 2011, and was completed Sunday, ahead of the originally planned September date. The project displaced some local residents, who were given $1,800 in compensation and moved to a newly built accommodation.

In total, RT reports that the project cost just over $105 million - while it isn't quite the Death Star we were looking for, this is an excellent start.

Enjoy...

via GIPHY