Observational astronomy is dependent on its data and therefore also on the instruments that collect this data. If one of these instruments fails, it is a blow to the entire profession. The collapse of the Arecibo Telescope last year after it was damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017 permanently deprived the world of radio astronomy of one of its most important observation tools. Now a team from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is hoping to upgrade an existing telescope at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia to replace the fancy Puerto Rican one and provide even more accurate images of near-Earth objects in the radio spectrum.
The Green Bank Telescope (GBT) is already the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. However, in order to get close to the 300 m high observation area of Arecibo, the 100 m long observation area of GBT would have to be upgraded.
Contextual image of the detail collected by GBT showing where on the lunar surface the image was taken.
This upgrade comes from a unique source – major defense company Raytheon. Raytheon itself has extensive experience in radar from years of experience in developing military radar systems. The Intelligence & Space business unit worked with the NRAO and the Green Bank Observatory to run some new tests that will feed data into the design of a much more powerful imaging system.
National Geographic Video via the Greenbank Telescope.
Photo credit: National Geographic YouTube Channel
This test took over two years to run and run and resulted in an extremely detailed image of the Apollo 15 landing site on the moon. The researchers responsible for the test also recruited the Very Long Baseline Array, a series of 10 observation platforms scattered across the continental United States, the US Virgin Islands, and Hawaii, to collect data on the signal that the GBT received from the lunar surface ricocheted.
The dots on this globe show the various locations for the VLBA that were used to collect the radio signal from GBT that was reflected from the moon.
Photo credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF
With this collected data, technologists from Raytheon and the NRAO can build a much more powerful radar system for the telescope. With an estimated output of 500 kilowatts, astronomers can bounce radar signals off never-before-accessible objects like Uranus and Neptune.
While upgrading to GBT doesn’t really replace what’s lost in Puerto Rico, it does provide access to data that has never been available before. With luck and a lot of work by scientists, this increased happiness will also lead to a better understanding of our place in the solar system.
Learn more:
NRAO: Successful test paves the way for new planetary radar
UT: Now you can watch a recent video of Arecibo Collapsing … if you dare
space.com: US planetary radar may be supported by the Green Bank Observatory
Mission statement:
Apollo 15 landing site in detail created by the upgrade of the GBT radar system.
Credit: NRAO / GBO / Raytheon / NSF / AUI
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