Monster in its Den

The 485-foot tall Green Bank Telescope is the largest, fully-steerable telescope in the world and the largest moving object ever built on land. The GBT is kept free from radio interference within a natural fortress of mountains and by Federal and State Radio Quiet zoning.

Taking a Deep Bow

The Green Bank Telescope was designed to see 85% of the entire skies visible around the Earth. As in this photo, the GBT can dip extremely low to capture data coming from very lowest sections of the sky, especially toward the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, where the GBT has found rich, complex chemistry.

Caught in the Last Rays

The Sun sets behind the mountains that ring our Green Bank observatory site in West Virginia. However, the Green Bank Telescope’s work will continue through the night. The GBT is the world’s largest moving telescope.

The Great Big Thing

The Green Bank Telescope is 485 feet high. It weighs 17 million pounds and has a dish 2.3 acres across. The GBT is the largest moving structure on land, and the largest fully-steerable telescope in the world. It was completed in 2000 and remains the most accurate and versatile large single-dish telescope in use today.

Looking Rather Festive

The maintenance lights on the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) create this stunning twilight scene in West Virginia.

Great Big Smile

The 2.3-acre dish of the Green Bank Telescope is the largest moving object on land. The GBT’s unique design places its receivers off the edge, at the top in this photo, to keep them from blocking incoming radio waves from hitting the dish.