jury1942 424 Posted July 6, 2020 Report Share Posted July 6, 2020 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jury1942 424 Posted July 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2020 Scenery - NRAO Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array The VLA or "Jansky Array", managed by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) consists of 27 independent radio telescope dishes, each with a diameter of 82 feet and weight of over 200 tons. Each antenna is found along the three arms of a track shaped in a Y configuration measuring 13 miles long. Using the rail tracks that follow each of these arms the antennas can be physically relocated to a number of prepared positions. At one point, the arms intersect with U.S. Route 60 which passes right through the middle of the array. It has been featured in numerous films, such as Armageddon, Independence Day, Terminator Salvation, a Bon Jovi music video, and was featured most prominently -and correctly- in the Carl Sagan novel Contact, as well as the film of the same name. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Soaranden 84 Posted July 7, 2020 Report Share Posted July 7, 2020 Very interesting. Thanks for sharing both your screenshots and your comments. Link to post Share on other sites
phil white 274 Posted July 7, 2020 Report Share Posted July 7, 2020 Nice shot. here in the UK in the North West there is a place called Jodrell Bank which has a huge dish and is just a short distance south of Manchester airport. Link to post Share on other sites
jury1942 424 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 (edited) 22 hours ago, phil white said: here in the UK in the North West there is a place called Jodrell Bank https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovell_Telescope One of the most notable developments came in 1946 with the introduction of the technique called astronomical interferometry, which means combining the signals from multiple antennas so that they simulate a larger antenna, in order to achieve greater resolution. Astronomical radio interferometers usually consist either of arrays of parabolic dishes, arrays of one-dimensional antennas or two-dimensional arrays of omnidirectional dipoles. All of the telescopes in the array are widely separated and are usually connected using coaxial cable, waveguide, optical fiber, or other type of transmission line. Recent advances in the stability of electronic oscillators also now permit interferometry to be carried out by independent recording of the signals at the various antennas, and then later correlating the recordings at some central processing facility. This process is known as Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Interferometry does increase the total signal collected, but its primary purpose is to vastly increase the resolution through a process called aperture synthesis. This technique works by superposing (interfering) the signal waves from the different telescopes on the principle that waves that coincide with the same phase will add to each other while two waves that have opposite phases will cancel each other out. This creates a combined telescope that is equivalent in resolution (though not in sensitivity) to a single antenna whose diameter is equal to the spacing of the antennas furthest apart in the array. A high-quality image requires a large number of different separations between telescopes. Projected separation between any two telescopes, as seen from the radio source, is called a baseline. For example, the Very Large Array (VLA) near Socorro, New Mexico has 27 telescopes with 351 independent baselines at once, which achieves a resolution of 0.2 arc seconds at 3 cm wavelengths. The world's largest physically connected telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), is planned to start operations in 2025 Edited July 8, 2020 by jury1942 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jury1942 424 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 (edited) PS (eyewitness) Luna 9 was an uncrewed space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. On 3 February 1966, the Luna 9 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to achieve a survivable landing on the celestial body. The pictures from Luna 9 were not released immediately by the Soviet authorities, but scientists at Jodrell Bank Observatory in England, which was monitoring the craft, noticed that the signal format used was identical to the internationally agreed Radiofax system used by newspapers for transmitting pictures. The Daily Express rushed a suitable receiver to the Observatory and the pictures from Luna 9 were decoded and published worldwide. The BBC speculated that the spacecraft's designers deliberately fitted the probe with equipment conforming to the standard, to enable reception of the pictures by Jodrell Bank. Edited July 8, 2020 by jury1942 Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted July 8, 2020 Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 Excellent screenies and a great info from everyone. We have a similar tracking and listening post at Goonhilly Downs in Cornwall, There are various dishes on the site of the array and until a few years ago there was even a visitors centre and guided tour operating, sadly this has now closed as operations moved forward into enven more advanced work. It has been used for numerous space missions. Up close it is a very impressive place , going around it gives a very eerie other worldly feeling. It was a fascinating and exciting place to see. I loved it. https://www.goonhilly.org/ 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jury1942 424 Posted July 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, dodgy-alan said: Goonhilly Downs in Cornwall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goonhilly_Satellite_Earth_Station Many thanks for pics! Edited July 9, 2020 by jury1942 1 Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted July 10, 2020 Report Share Posted July 10, 2020 On 09/07/2020 at 06:14, jury1942 said: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goonhilly_Satellite_Earth_Station Many thanks for pics! You're welcome. Being there it felt like the backdrop of a Hollywood sci-fi movie, but you instantly knew that this was something special. the sheer size of those dishes is breathtaking. Especially Merlin at over 100 ft diameter. even when the visitors centre was open there were still certain parts that were marked top-secret and we weren't allowed to get too close! Very X-Files !! Link to post Share on other sites
jury1942 424 Posted July 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, dodgy-alan said: You're welcome TNA-1500 or RT-64 radio telescope: D = 64 m, full-swing parabolic reflector, minimum working wavelength = 1 cm, total mass =3800 t, mirror mass = 800 t, secondary mirror D = 6 m area of 1500 m². The construction of the telescope began in 1969. He joined the work in 1979. Manufacturer: Special Design Bureau MEI (OKB MEI). Large radio telescopes with a diameter of 64 m (TNA-1500) were created to support scientific programs. One (TNA-1500Mo) is located in Bear Lakes on the branch of OKB MEI 17km from Moscow with coordinates of 37 degrees 57 minutes east longitude and 55 degrees 52 minutes north latitude. A similar radio telescope (TNA-1500K) is located at the branch of OKB MEI Kalyazin (180 km north of Moscow) with coordinates of 37 degrees 53 minutes east longitude and 57 degrees 13 minutes north latitude. Both radio telescopes are connected geodesically, informationally, and organizationally can be a single complex that optimally provides a solution to a number of problems in the interests of various consumers. Radio telescope TNA-1500 (RT-64) Multipurpose microwave telescopes with a diameter of 64 m are designed for: - fundamental astronomical research, - space exploration, - receiving information signals from spacecraft from deep space, - spacecraft control in deep space. - functional application as part of the ZRT-64 ground-based radio telescope of the ground-based shoulder of the ground-space radio interferometer of the Radioastron project in the frequency ranges 0.327; 1.66; 4.85 GHz and 22 GHz (90 cm, 18 cm, 6 cm and 1.35 cm) for work on the Radioastron project. http://www.okbmei.ru/innovation_3.html Edited July 10, 2020 by jury1942 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jury1942 424 Posted July 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2020 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Deep_Space_Network 1 Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted July 10, 2020 Report Share Posted July 10, 2020 They are fascinating things and a part of the space programme that often gets overlooked by many people, all they are interested in are the big shiny rockets! They forget that without these arrays and dishes, nothing would work! I have Goonhilly as a scenery file but not been on FS for some time as life getting in the way! LOL Link to post Share on other sites
Soaranden 84 Posted July 11, 2020 Report Share Posted July 11, 2020 I'm jumping back into this conversation since there is so much interest. Every day, in order to get some positive news, I read Phys.org to keep abreast of some of the wonderful work scientists are doing. Here are links to recent articles (including photos and videos) that I have read about radio astronomy: New distance measurements bolster challenge to basic model of universe Preparations complete in western Australia for construction of world's largest telescope Scientists close in on 12-billion-year-old signal from the end of the universe's 'dark age' Dan 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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