Undergraduate trainees from the Enhancing and Nurturing Careers in Astronomy with New Training Opportunities (ENCANTO) program are one group that has actually carried out research study utilizing the Arecibo Observatory’s 12-meter telescope and its brand-new cooled receiver. Credit: Anish Roshi
Built within a natural sinkhole in Puerto Rico, the 305-meter-wide Arecibo Telescope played a part in various discoveries, consisting of the very first detection of an exoplanet. It was the biggest radio telescope in the United States from 1963 till it collapsed in 2020.
Given that 2011, the Arecibo Observatory has actually likewise been home to a 2nd, smaller sized radio telescope. In a brand-new Radio Science paper, scientists explain how current updates to this 12-meter telescope broaden possibilities for future discoveries.
The 12-meter telescope initially ran at a fairly narrow bandwidth of radio frequencies, restricting its applications. In addition, its receivers ran at space temperature level, which led to noisier signals and lower level of sensitivity compared to telescopes with receivers cooled to cryogenic temperature levels.
Now, the scientists have actually equipped the 12-meter telescope with a brand-new receiver system that runs at a considerably larger bandwidth (2.5– 14 ghz) and is cooled to 15 K (-432 ° F).
In summer season 2023, the recently equipped telescope showed its abilities by making a variety of area observations. These consisted of discovering methylidyne emission from dark molecular clouds towards the center of our galaxy, observing a formerly found pulsar, and recording a picture of an area of magnetic activity on the sun that produces extreme solar flares.
With extra enhancements prepared, the 12-meter telescope at Arecibo might quickly add to a wide variety of future research study and academic jobs.
More info: D. Anish Roshi et al, A Cryogenic Wideband (2.5– 14 GHz) Receiver System for the Arecibo Observatory 12 m Telescope, Radio Science (2024 ). DOI: 10.1029/ 2023RS007839
This story is republished thanks to Eos, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Check out the initial story here.
Citation: Arecibo Observatory telescope equipped with a wideband cryogenic system to broaden its abilities (2024, March 29) recovered 16 April 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-03-arecibo-observatory-telescope-outfitted-wideband.html
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