Imagine spending all day working on a 2.3 acre surface of super-reflective metal. Adjusting the panels on the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) requires such blindingly bright conditions, and sunglasses are part of the safety gear for all technicians. You can see a technician adjusting a panel in the reflection in the sunglasses.
Readjusting the GBT’s Surface
Shortly after the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) went online in 2000, measurements of its surface showed that its 2004 aluminum panels needed more tuning to create the dish’s perfect parabolic shape. In an a large group effort, engineers and technicians spent weeks on the 2.3-acre dish manually changing the heights of the corners of each panel until the laser rangefinders mapped a smooth surface. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory built and designed the Green Bank Telescope, but as of October 2016, GBT now operates independently under Green Bank Observatory.
Tightening the metal plates of the GBT Track
Construction on the Green Bank Telescope began in the 1990s, with its huge circular track and support. The track is built 25 feet into the ground to keep the entire telescope sturdy and level. In this photo, contract engineers and staff are tightening the metal plate above the concrete track. Behind them is one of the GBT’s four trucks that drive the 17-million pound telescope around on the track. Each truck has four wheels that support around one million pounds.
Night Sky Over the 140-foot Telescope
The world’s largest polar-aligned telescope is this radio telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia. The telescope’s axis is aimed at Polaris (The North Pole, or area below the North Star) so that it can follow the sky as the Earth spins. In this photograph, we are able to view the 140-foot (43-meter) telescope from the south and lit against the dust-shrouded heart of our Milky Way galaxy.
Long exposure photograph of lights placed on ALMA antenna
Sometimes, engineers at the ALMA Operations Support Facility have a little harmless fun with their antennas. On this night, a small light was attached to a North American antenna as its drives were being tested while workers took a long-exposure shot of its movement.
A Model Molecule and its Spectrum
A model molecule (shown here 500 million times larger than life) spins in a very specific manner, making radio waves as it does. Molecules transmit a unique set of wavelengths that can be detected by radio telescopes. On the screen are the signals we receive when that molecule spins in space.