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OT: Listening to outer space


Tom Adams

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During my recent motorcycle trip in West (by God) Virginia, I went to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, WVa. Really a cool place and would like to have been able to do the high tech tour that allows one to go through the various labs. As such, I just did the presentation and then bus tour out where the radio telescopes are. The largest is the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) you see here. You can't possibly imagine the size of this motha until you get close to it. The surface of the dish is over 2 acres!!

If you're ever in the area, I'd suggest you stop in.

Tom

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Just another shot of the GBT. There's a series of lasers that scan the dish surface inorder to determine if the surface is not truly parabolic. If there are panels that are out of tolerance, small motors on each of the lord knows how many panels adjust the panels until the parabolic shape is obtained.

Tom

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