What are they listening to? This is a question that the (NRAO) gets asked daily.
On Saturday, my husband and friends wanted to go on a day trip. So the four of us head out to Green Bank, West Virginia, home of the National Radio Astronomic Observatory (NRAO). The NRAO's first facility and office opened in Green Bank in May 1957.
We toured the museum, watched a film, and took a bus tour over the grounds of the observatory. The museum was very interesting. Exhibits explain what radio telescopes do and show visitors how scientists use radio telescopes to learn more about the universe. Some exhibits are hands-on.
On the tour, we saw eight telescopes, but only five are working. The one telescope that is HUGE and worth seeing is the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). It is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope and the world's largest land-based movable structure. The telescope honors the name of the late Senator Robert C. Byrd.
Our tour guide said that the current telescope, was built following the collapse of the previous Green Bank telescope, a 90.44m paraboloid. The previous telescope collapsed on November 15, 1988 due to metal fatigue. No one was hurt. The telescope's 2.3-acre collecting area looks quite a bit larger in person than it does in a photograph. Before going through the gate, to see the telescopes, I was able to take a photo of the GBT from a distance; once inside the gate digital cameras were not allowed. And, of course, all cell phones had to be turned off.
The telescope sits at the heart of the United States National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ), a large area where all radio transmissions are either limited or banned outright, to help the telescope function properly. The NRQZ encloses ~ 13,000 square miles near the state border between Virginia and West Virginia. If you are planning a trip to the observatory, remember you cell phones will not work.
The observatory land was once farmland for seven farms. It is mostly flat, and is surrounded by deep green forest and beautiful mountain scenery.
Call NRAO for tours at (304) 456-2011.
Tours are FREE!
The museum has a gift counter and a small snack bar
Check out the NRAO if you are visiting West Virginia..... and see the huge radio telescopes at work. Kids, as well as adults, will enjoy visiting the museum and taking the tour to see the different telescopes.
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