China To Build The World's Highest Planetarium In Tibet With The Region's Largest Telescope

China will begin building the world's highest planetarium in Tibet next year. Local authorities reported that the planetarium will be China's first. Touted to be fully ready by 2019, the planetarium will be built within the Tibet Museum of Natural Sciences in Tibet's provincial capital Lhasa.

Tibet, also known as the "Roof of the World" for it stands 4,000 metres above sea level, will be a perfect place for astronomical observation.?

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china daily

The planetarium will house the Tibet's largest optical astronomical telescope that will have a diametre of 1 metre. The edifice will also become an important regional base for astronomical research and public science education, said the Science Technology Department of Tibet.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the telescope will be jointly designed by the planetarium and the National Astronomical Observatories.?

reuters

"The planetarium, with the highest altitude in the world, will become a 'perfect window' for the public to get to know the stars and explore the universe, thanks to little air or light pollution in the region," said Wang Junjie, the deputy head of the department.

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India herself may become home to the world's largest telescope after Hanle in Ladakh was short-listed in 2016 as a prospective site. The site was finalised by Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT) International Observatory for building the $1.47-billion project. Hanle also houses the Indian Astronomical Observatory — the highest observatory in the world — at a height of 4,500 metres. It is the second-highest optical observatory in the world, with an installed telescope of a diametre of 2.01 metres.?