Parkes Radio Telescope_0413
The Parkes telescope is a 64 metre diameter parabolic dish located 20 kilometres north of Parkes in western New South Wales. “The Dish” as it is popularly known, was built in 1961 but only its basic support structure has remained unchanged. All of the key technological components have been upgraded—many of then several times—to maintain the telescope as a cutting edge instrument. It is now ten thousand times more sensitive than when it was first commissioned.
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—on this occasion the telescope was stowed in its least interesting position, pointing directly upwards, for scheduled maintenance. I tried several shots from different angles but was not happy with any of them. Then as I was about to pack it in, I noticed the Dish reflected in the window of the Visitor Centre and snapped this shot. To me the reflection has a Sci-Fi quality about it—looking perhaps like an alien mother-ship hovering above the Earth.
Point of Interest: On December 10, 2018 it was announced that, 41 years after its launch, the Voyager 2 space probe had entered interstellar space. Because of Voyager 2’s location and distance from Earth, the Parkes telescope and the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex in the Australian Capital Territory are the only facilities in the world that are capable of having contact with the spacecraft.
© Irwin Reynolds, all rights reserved. If you are interested in using one of my images or would like a high quality fine art print, please send me an email (irwinreynolds@me.com).
Parkes Radio Telescope_0413
The Parkes telescope is a 64 metre diameter parabolic dish located 20 kilometres north of Parkes in western New South Wales. “The Dish” as it is popularly known, was built in 1961 but only its basic support structure has remained unchanged. All of the key technological components have been upgraded—many of then several times—to maintain the telescope as a cutting edge instrument. It is now ten thousand times more sensitive than when it was first commissioned.
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—on this occasion the telescope was stowed in its least interesting position, pointing directly upwards, for scheduled maintenance. I tried several shots from different angles but was not happy with any of them. Then as I was about to pack it in, I noticed the Dish reflected in the window of the Visitor Centre and snapped this shot. To me the reflection has a Sci-Fi quality about it—looking perhaps like an alien mother-ship hovering above the Earth.
Point of Interest: On December 10, 2018 it was announced that, 41 years after its launch, the Voyager 2 space probe had entered interstellar space. Because of Voyager 2’s location and distance from Earth, the Parkes telescope and the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex in the Australian Capital Territory are the only facilities in the world that are capable of having contact with the spacecraft.
© Irwin Reynolds, all rights reserved. If you are interested in using one of my images or would like a high quality fine art print, please send me an email (irwinreynolds@me.com).