THE Chinese ambassador will be visiting Liverpool today to inspect a £3m telescope being built for his country by John Moores University scientists. Zha Peixin will attach the final bolt to the device, which is the largest robotic telescope in the world and has the power to look at parts of the universe up to 5bn light years away. It will stand on a mountain top, near the historic city of Li Jiang, in Yunnan Province, south-west China. Once Mr Peixin's inspection is complete, and engineers have tested its complex control systems, the Yunnan telescope will be dismantled, packed and shipped to China. It will take a further six months to reassemble the telescope, starting in the summer. Dr Chris Moss, research fellow at JMU, said: "In parallel with its rapidly growing economy, China has an ambitious programme to establish modern astronomical facilities at the leading-edge of international research. "The Yunnan telescope will be the first of these facilities, and the largest telescope in Asia "It will be used by astronomers all over China, and by visiting scientists throughout the continent." The 2.4 metre Yunnan telescope has been designed and manufactured by Telescope Technologies Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JMU. It can be used for a wide variety of research programmes, including searching for planets, studying stars and determining the size and age of the universe. It will be linked to three other TTL-built telescopes - the Faulkes I telescope on Maui, Hawaii, the Liverpool JMU Telescope on La Palma and the Faulkes II telescope in Australia. This will form a global network capable of monitoring moving objects 24 hours a day. Established in 1996 with support from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, TTL won the prestigious 48 Group Club award of China Exporter of the Year 2002 for securing the Yunnan telescope contract. It clinched the deal with the help of Chinalink, a Liverpool Chamber of Commerce trade and investment service. Dr Moss added: "China is very keen on international research partnerships. "As part of the telescope contract, there is a 20 year time-share agreement between TTL and the Yunnan Observatory for work with the telescope, which will lead to a new era of cooperation between Chinese and UK astronomy, particularly at JMU." | 
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