Painting the GBT

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Painting the GBT

Each of the 2004 aluminum panels of the 2.3 acres of Green Bank Telescope’s surface must be scraped and repainted on a rotating schedule. It takes years to paint the entire GBT, and painters arrive every summer to keep this endless task going.
The paint on the GBT is a special blend that reflects sunlight, gives off heat, and its molecules do not give off radio waves.

Credit: B. Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF

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Painting the GBT

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