Stronger Together
One of 8 radio telescopes forming the Smithsonian Sub-Millimeter Array, at Sunset, about 14kft (=4km) altitude atop Mauna Kea. SMA is a joint project of the Smithsonian Institution and the Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics.
More dishes increase sensitivity; more separation yields more aperture and hence resolution; tracking a target over multiple hours on multiple nights lengthens exposure. Linking SMA with similar radio telescope arrays in California and Arizona to form the Event Horizon Telescope provided the first image of Sag A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The journal article describing the observation of Sag A* had several hundred authors, from multiple nations.
The short stairway offers access to the control room behind the disk, sufficient for a pair of engineers, as we shall see eventually. Telescope guidance and data recording are fully automated.
The location—as you can see—is cold and windy at sunset, and no place for tourists in the dark.
Happy Freezing Friday!
Explore no.125 March 1, 2025
Stronger Together
One of 8 radio telescopes forming the Smithsonian Sub-Millimeter Array, at Sunset, about 14kft (=4km) altitude atop Mauna Kea. SMA is a joint project of the Smithsonian Institution and the Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics.
More dishes increase sensitivity; more separation yields more aperture and hence resolution; tracking a target over multiple hours on multiple nights lengthens exposure. Linking SMA with similar radio telescope arrays in California and Arizona to form the Event Horizon Telescope provided the first image of Sag A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The journal article describing the observation of Sag A* had several hundred authors, from multiple nations.
The short stairway offers access to the control room behind the disk, sufficient for a pair of engineers, as we shall see eventually. Telescope guidance and data recording are fully automated.
The location—as you can see—is cold and windy at sunset, and no place for tourists in the dark.
Happy Freezing Friday!
Explore no.125 March 1, 2025