Glowing Eyes
The 2004 panels of the Green Bank Telescope have apple-sized reflector bulbs embedded in them. Engineers can light the surface of the telescope and measure the brightnesses of each reflector to map the curvature of the dish. The shape of the GBT’s dish, a perfect parabola, must be kept for the telescope to reflect radio waves accurately into its receivers.
Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF
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