Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
March 8, 1996
The 76-Metre Lovell Radio Telescope
Credit:
University of Manchester,
Nuffield
Radio Astronomy Laboratories
Explanation: Jodrell Bank in England is the home of the Lovell Telescope one of the largest radio telescopes in the world. Completed in 1957 under the direction of Bernard Lovell, the 250 ft. diameter dish was the largest steerable radio telescope. The telescope has been used to monitor extremely faint radio emissions from space, including the transmissions of the Pioneer spacecraft in the distant Solar System. The telescope has been used in many astronomical investigations, including the determination of structure in local interstellar gas, searches for pulsars, determining molecular abundances towards the Galactic centre, and mapping hydrogen emission in galaxies. Currently, the telescope is not really for sale.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry
Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.:
Jay Norris.
Specific rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA
at
NASA/
GSFC
&:
Michigan Tech. U.