Английская Википедия:Green Bank Interferometer

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Шаблон:Infobox Telescope The Green Bank Interferometer (GBI) is a former radio astronomy telescope located at Green Bank, West Virginia (US) and operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). It included three on-site radio telescopes of 85-foot (26m) diameter, designated 85-1, 85-3, and 85-2 (85-1 is also known as the Tatel Telescope) and a portable telescope.

History

Файл:Howard E. Tatel Radio Telescope - front.jpg
85-1 telescope

The first telescope (85-1, Tatel) was built in 1959 at a fixed location. It was used in Project Ozma in 1960 without Interferometer. In 1963, in anticipation of adding movable telescopes for interferometer, the second Шаблон:Convert telescope kit identical to 85-1 was ordered. The construction of the second telescope (85-2) was completed in 1964 along with a Шаблон:Convert track from 85-1. At that time, the 85-2 telescope was placed at the end of the track and cables were connected between the two telescopes. The GBI began operation that year as a two element interferometer in order to test large aperture synthesis arrays and study radio astrometry and interstellar scintillation.

Файл:85-3 Radio Telescope at Green Bank NRAO.jpg
85-3 movable telescope with truck tires to allow it to move along the track

In 1967 the array was upgraded with construction of the third element (85-3) to be located in the middle of the track. Both 85-2 and 85-3 had truck tires mounted on either side to allow them to be moved along the track to test different baselines. The limitation of the 3-element interferometer along a short track became apparent. A Шаблон:Convert portable telescope was procured. The portable telescope was placed Шаблон:Convert away from Green Bank site and then moved to Шаблон:Convert forming a T shape with the length of the bottom arm of the T to be similar to the length of each arm of the Y configuration at Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) which was still in a design phase. The portable telescope was later placed on a mountaintop in Huntersville, West Virginia, Шаблон:Convert away from Green Bank, which is the same distance of the longest baseline of VLA. The portable telescope was replaced in 1973 with Шаблон:Convert portable telescope which was in use until 1983.[1]

Файл:Green Bank 45-foot Radio Telescope.jpg
The 45-foot telescope after permanent installation at the Green Bank site

From 1978-1996, the GBI was operated in support of USNO and NRL geodetic and astronomy programs. In 1979, the GBI configuration had 85-3 and 85-2 at Шаблон:Convert and Шаблон:Convert away from 85-1 respectively, and the portable telescope at Шаблон:Convert from Green Bank.[2] In 1983, the Шаблон:Convert portable telescope was moved back to Green Bank for another function to become a tracking station for Space VLBI satellites. The new Шаблон:Convert portable telescope was put in place for interferometer operation until 1988 when the GBI reconfigured to 2-element interferometer with 85-3 taken out to become geodetic VLBI and pulsar monitoring telescope.[1][3]

The GBI resumed operation as a radio monitoring instrument on Nov. 22, 1996, operated by NRAO and supported by the NASA High Energy Astrophysics program. The GBI was then used as a two telescope interferometer that operated simultaneously at 2.25 and 8.3 GHz to monitor transient, galactic X-ray binaries, AGN's and Gamma-ray sources. Amongst the prime sources were GRS 1915+105, GRO J1655-40, Cyg X-3, Cyg X-1, GRS 1716-249, SS 433, and LS I +61 303.[4]

On October 6, 2000 the GBI monitoring program has ceased due to lack of funding.[5]

Technical Data: 2-element interferometer

  • Baseline: 2400 meters at an azimuth of 62 degrees (E of N).
  • Bands: 8.3 GHz (X-band) and 2.25 GHz (S-band) with 35 MHz bandwidth.
  • Receivers: Cryogenically cooled, dual frequency, dual polarization. Both X and S bands simultaneously observed in both right and left circular polarizations.
  • System temperature: About 35 K in Sband and 45 K in Xband.
  • Sensitivity: RMS noise in a 5-minute scan is about 6 mJy in S-band and 10 mJy in X-band for point sources.
  • Minimum integration time: 30 seconds.
  • Resolution: About 3 arcseconds fringe at X-band and 11 arcseconds at S-band.

See also

References

Шаблон:Reflist

External links

Шаблон:Radio-telescope Шаблон:Portal bar