Haystack Observatory
Westford Antenna
Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico
- Largest single dish telescope in the world
Small Radio Telescope (SRT)
Antennae (Reflector) – Collects light
(radio waves) and
reflects it to a
receiver
Receiver – The light power (radio waves)
are collected and transformed
to an electric signal
Another Type of Radio Telescope
How Radio Telescopes Work
http://www.mlesat.com/digibook.html
Incident Waves and Reflected Waves make equal
angles with lines that are perpendicular to the
surface
Parabolic Reflectors
focal length
aperture
Light (radio) waves come in
parallel and bounce off at
the same angle they come
in …
the point they all intersect
is the focal point or focus
focal point (focus)
Interferometry
- combination of two or more radio telescopes to
observe the same object at the same time
Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico
VBLA (Very Large Base Array) is a system of 10 telescopes that are operated
Remotely to work together to create the largest radio telescope to date.
A Very Large Array (VLA) radio view of Galaxy M51 verses a visible light view