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Turning an Old Satellite Dish into a Radio Telescope

-- | September 27, 2012

Question: I have a old satellite dish in the yard [that I] wanted to use for radio astronomy for the kids. It is 10ft [in diameter. How can I make it observe astronomical objects?] — Bill

Answer: In fact, you can turn an old satellite dish into a radio telescope, but you can probably only see some nearby objects, such as the Sun or some communications satellites. For information on how to turn a satellite dish into a radio telescope, see the Science in School description of how to build your own radio telescope.

Jeff Mangum

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