Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico -- NSF
Posted on 11/01/2013 2:51:24 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Happy 50th birthday to the telescope that brought us the first map of Venus, revealed ice on Mercury, and more.
When Cornell University built the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico -- near the equator, so it could observe the planets without needing to move its 1,000-foot-wide reflector -- people hadn't even set foot on the moon yet. They wouldn't for another six years.
Since its construction, Arecibo has contributed to generations of astronomy. Researchers first set its radar and radio instruments to discover basics, such as the speed of Mercury and Venus' rotations and the surface features of the moon and planets neighboring the Earth. Later, data from the observatory would lead to the discovery of the first planetary system revolving around an alien sun. Today, it is still one of the world's largest radio telescopes and is available to scientists 24 hours a day, every day. Astronomers use Arecibo data especially to study far-off objects such as galaxies, asteroids and pulsars, the rotating neutron stars that emit radio energy in regular waves.
In honor of the radio telescope's 50th birthday on November 1, here's a look at some of the greatest hits in its history.
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico -- NSF
Click on the thumbnails below to enter the gallery.
Later, data from the observatory would lead to the discovery of the first planetary system revolving around an alien sun.
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It was in the secret labs built into the mountain beneath that “telescope” that the cupacabra was genetically engineered.
Oh, and that “telescope” doesn’t look at stars. It’s a broadcast mechanism for mind control.
read it on the web so has to be true!
That place and its mission has fascinated me my whole life
I don’t know if it’s the best but it’s the most awesome looking telescope on Earth.
ping
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