#nrao

[gregor-samsa-daily]

today's gregor samsa is: on the green bank telescope

[lizardzap]

Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)

ALMA is the largest and most powerful radio telescope operating at millimeter wavelengths (3.6 to 0.32 mm). It is also the most expensive ground-based telescope ever built ($1.5 B!). It is located in the Atacama Desert in Chile and is comprised of fifty-four 12 m dishes and twelve 7 m dishes. These radio dishes are movable and can be arranged with a maximum baseline of 16 km. When combining data from all 66 dishes, its resolution is (up to) 5x better than Hubble's. (Edit: I got the # of dishes wrong but I fixed it)

Huge fan of ALMA she is so awesome so cool the telescope ever. Her jewelry is based on Chilean Mapuche silverwork (trarilonco and trapelacucha). They look similar to the array of radio dishes to me. She doesn't wear all that casually though, maybe just the hair ribbons. Also she is best friends with JWST, they work together on many long-wavelength things! Like this!

[stormbear]

Owens Valley Radio Observatory, California

[nasawifey]

[evehaze]

NRAO Very Large Array

[blasteffect]

Artist impression of the 14 galaxies detected by ALMA as they appear in the very early, very distant universe. 

These galaxies are in the process of merging and will eventually form the core of a massive galaxy cluster. 

Credit: NRAO

[imrryr]

The Very Large Array radio observatory, 24 miles west of Magdalena, NM

📡⭐😍

The 28 telescopes of the VLA are moved on parallel railroad tracks and can be arranged in several Y-shaped configurations with the help of a lifting locomotive. Currently the complex is in configuration B, which spreads out the telescopes over 7 miles. The maximum separation possible is 22.6 miles.

The further apart the telescopes are spaced, the larger the array’s eye, and the more detail it can see.

Oh, and the visitor center is finally open again! :D

[therealuniverse]

This video from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory describes how astronomers are measuring the current expansion of the universe and its implications for Dark Energy. This video discusses the 2 different ways that the current expansion rate of the universe has been measured, how the two numbers currently don't agree, and how gravitational waves may offer an additional way to answer this question.