Radio Astronomy: An Informal TalkWhat I’ll talk aboutWhat does a telescope do?Looking Beyond the EyesOptical TelescopesDifferent Views of SunRadio Astronomy BasicsA Little More DetailJansky’s Original RadiotelescopeGrote Reber’s Telescope170 foot Diameter Radio-telescope at Green Bank, WVThe 100-meter Green Bank TelescopeEven Bigger than you ThinkJupiter in RadioSaturn in Radio3C296 Radio/Optical CompositeA Vision for George Mason (based upon Univ. Indianapolis)Small Radio Telescope JustificationSlide 19GMU SRT BackgroundGMU SRT Background Part IIDid You Say Fragile?Picking Up the Pieces on the RoofWhistle While You WorkToleranceCleanup On The RoofThe Base Of SRTServo Motors AttachmentServos with Ring AssemblyDish/Receiver AssemblyReadying for Final Mechanical AssemblyFrom Mechanical to ElectricalAssembled and Ready to TestSample DataEven Smaller - Radio JoveSmall Radio Science Demonstration ProjectsReally SmoothingPlaying With The DataA Potpourri Of ColorFamily Portrait (2001 conference)Radio Astronomy Observatory at George Mason UniversityLooking To The FutureFuture GMU ObservatoryOnLine ReferencesBook ReferencesMany ThanksRadio Astronomy:An Informal TalkPresented to theSociety of Physics StudentsNorthern Virginia Community College19 NovemberbyProf. Harold Geller, GMUWhat I’ll talk about•Telescopes•Electromagnetic waves•Radioastronomy basics•NRAO at Green Bank, West Virginia•Small Radio Telescope at George Mason UniversityWhat does a telescope do?•Collect electromagnetic waves–Collecting ability proportional to the square of the diameter of the objective•Resolve electromagnetic sources–Related to the atmosphere, wavelength and curvature of the objective•Magnify surfaces of planets and the Moon–Magnification only of Moon, Sun and planetsLooking Beyond the EyesOptical TelescopesReflectorRefractorDifferent Views of Sun Sun in Hydrogen-alpha Sun in X-rayRadio Astronomy BasicsA Little More DetailJansky’s Original RadiotelescopeGrote Reber’s Telescope170 foot Diameter Radio-telescope at Green Bank, WVThe 100-meter Green Bank TelescopeEven Bigger than you ThinkJupiter in RadioSaturn in Radio 3C296 Radio/Optical CompositeA Vision for George Mason (based upon Univ. Indianapolis)Small Radio Telescope Justification•Radio science observations in the L-band –L-band lies in the 1400-1427 MHz region of the electromagnetic spectrum–detection of what astronomers call the 21-cm line of hydrogen•this is a portion of the hydrogen spectrum, in the radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is generated by the neutral hydrogen clouds in the interstellar mediumSmall Radio Telescope Justification•Observations in C-band, which is 4313-4338 MHz and 3788-3813 MHz–Radio science observations in the C-band allow for the radio emission examination of the moon, which acts as a body at a temperature of 200 K.–Students will be able to scan the moon, and detect the estimated 6000 joules of energy from the lunar surface.GMU SRT Background•Funding–National Science Foundation•education portion of grant won by Dr. Rita Sambruna•Order History–ordered first week of June 2002•stated 12 week delivery time–received 15 October 2002•damaged antennaGMU SRT Background Part II•Order History–boxes damaged–FedEx insurance inspector called and visited to assess damage - refused claim–replacement parts to be shipped by vendor•Base assembled on roof–1 November 2002•Remaining electronics and replacement antenna parts received 30 January 2003Did You Say Fragile?Picking Up the Pieces on the RoofWhistle While You WorkToleranceCleanup On The RoofThe Base Of SRTServo Motors AttachmentServos with Ring AssemblyDish/Receiver AssemblyReadying for Final Mechanical AssemblyFrom Mechanical to ElectricalAssembled and Ready to TestSample DataEven Smaller - Radio JoveSmall Radio Science Demonstration Projects•Undergraduate research–Steve Richardson•web site built with some results from data acquired using U of Indianapolis–http://physics.gmu.edu/~arichar6/radio/index.html•prepared presentation for GMU “innovations” fair•prepared presentation for CPAC meeting at Bucknell UniversityReally SmoothingPlaying With The DataA Potpourri Of ColorFamily Portrait (2001 conference)Radio Astronomy Observatory at George Mason UniversityLooking To The FutureFuture GMU ObservatoryOnLine References•http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/intro/image.index.html•http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/intro/faq.html•http://donald.phast.umass.edu/~fcrao/education/report1.html•http://www.haystack.mit.edu/•http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/radioastronomy/•http://www.bambi.net/sara.html•http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/Book References•Radio Astronomy by John D. Kraus•An Introduction to Radio Astronomy by Bernard Burke•The Amateur Radio Astronomer’s Handbook by John Potter Shields•Radio Astronomy for the Amateur by David Heiserman•Radio Astronomy (Above and Beyond) by Adele RichardsonMany Thanks•Rita Sambruna (GMU)•Maria Dworzecka (GMU)•Justin Brown (GMU)•Dan Thomas (GMU)•Kathy Santiago (NVCC)•John Avellone•Christopher Helm•National Science Foundation (NSF)•MIT Haystack