43 Meter (140 Foot) Telescope

Bistatic Radar Observations of the Ionosphere

It's back! Six years after the 140 Foot Telescope retired from service as an NSF user-instrument, the largest equatorial telescope in the world is back online as part of a collaborative project with MIT.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory and NRAO are collaborating to study turbulent properties of Earth's Ionosphere.

43m with Discone Antennas

Note the row of discone antennas in front of the 43 Meter Telescope, used in a parallel experiment to detect FM radio signals, backscattered off the ionosphere.

Initial testing of the 43 Meter Telescope. The service tower is to the left and the 100m diameter GBT is in the middle background.

Bistatic radar observations of spacecraft

Bistatic radar observations of spacecraft are conducted between the radar station at Millstone Hill Observatory, and the 43 Meter Telescope in Green Bank.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Green Bank Observatory are facilities of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Founded in 1956, the NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.

Connect with NRAO

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Green Bank Observatory are facilities of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.