A 140-foot Contortionist

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A 140-foot Contortionist

This 140-foot (43-meter) aluminum-clad parabolic dish antenna sits on the world’s largest polar-aligned mount in Green Bank, West Virginia. The rounded yoke swivels around the central axis of the telescope which is aligned perfectly with the rotational axes of the Earth. The dish can swivel up and down, giving it a contortionist’s amount of flexibility. In this way, the telescope can easily track objects in the sky as they appear to rise and set from the Earth’s spin on its axis.

Credit: B. Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF

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The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility 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.
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