Daily Image
22-02-2007
Opening the lid on Arecibo
| Submitter: | Michael Garrett |
| Description: | The Arecibo radio telescope located in Puerto Rico is the largest astronomical instrument on the planet. As a member of the European VLBI Network (EVN), Arecibo takes part in many global VLBI experiments and was successfully involved in early e-VLBI experiments. With an effective collecting area of ~ 70000 square metres, Arecibo is as large as all the other radio telescopes in the world put together - and this added sensitivity permits some unique science to be conducted. The telescope is a technological icon and has featured in several movies, including "Golden Eye" and "Contact". Currently its long-term future is uncertain, as the National Science Foundation begins to focus on the support and development of new facilities, such as ALMA. While the size of the great dish is awe-inspiring, what lies under its surface is almost as impressive. The shady lighting conditions (the surface is made up of 40000 perforated aluminium panels), together with rain water flowing down from the surrounding karst depression, support a huge expanse of lush forest vegetation and associated wild life - tending this natural sub-surface "garden" is a full time job and it also boasts an impressive water feature - a small river flows across the garden and a tarmaced road provides access for vehicles. Hopefully, maintaining the LOFAR fields will be a good deal easier than this! |
| Copyright: | ASTRON |
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