Green Bank Observatory is located in Green Bank, West Virginia. Located in the Appalachian mountains, it is home to the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope, the Green Bank Telescope. The site is located in what they call a National Radio Quiet Zone, where authorities limit all radio transmissions to avoid radio interference with the Green Bank telescope. There is no cable, cellular data, or internet, and it is one of the most peaceful places in West Virginia. It consists of a 13,000-square-foot radio quiet zone, surrounded by one of the quietest towns in the country, Green Bank. The telescope’s location has been the site of important radio astronomy discoveries and telescopes since it opened in 1957, pulling in approximately 40,000 visitors from around the country each year. Multiple important scientific discoveries have been made at the GBO, including the detection of a new pulsar in the global cluster Messier 62, discoveries in the Orion Cloud, and a massive neutron star PSR J0740+6620. GBO is home to multiple state-of-the-art telescopes, including the first radio telescope, the Jansky Telescope. It was originally built to act as an antenna of sorts but changed direction when Jansky discovered a “hiss”, which he believed to be coming from the sun. He later realized that the “hiss” was actually radiation coming from our own Milky Way Galaxy, and therefore, radio astronomy was born.
The Jansky telescope is no longer in use, but a replica remains on the site of GBO to act as a dedication to the father of radio astronomy. GBO is home to many other important telescopes, such as the Reber telescope, The Tatel Telescope, The GreenBank interferometer, and the CHIME outrigger.
The Robert C Byrd Green Bank Telescope is the world’s premier single-dish radio telescope, operating at meter-to-millimeter wavelengths (3.0-2.6mm operating range). It has a receiving area of 100 meters, making it the world’s largest radio telescope. The telescope also holds an unblocked aperture, with a collecting area of 2.34 acres and a diameter of 300 feet. The telescope has outstanding access to 85% of the celestial sphere, proving to be extremely efficient, operating at about 6,500 hours per year, with 2000-3000 of those hours dedicated to high-frequency observations. It weighs a whopping 17 million pounds and stands over 485 feet above ground level.
Each year, Daniel Reichart hosts his annual “Educational Research in Radio Astronomy” (ERIRA) program, where around 30 students and educators from across the country gather for an exciting week of learning about radio astronomy. During my time at ERIRA, I arrived with the intention of pushing my limits, both physically, academically, and mentally, and of venturing beyond my comfort zone. I was determined to get the most out of this experience, challenging my perceived abilities. During our week, we engage in observations of our nearby celestial neighborhood and dive into projects that ignite our interests. I dedicated my time to studying polarization angles from the north polar spur and assisting in building and installing a new data acquisition system for the 40-foot telescope.
The experience was enriched by spending time with like-minded individuals who share a passion for astronomy. We worked on projects late into the night, woke up early to head to the observing room, and created lasting bonds and memories. I am immensely grateful for my time at ERIRA and would return in a heartbeat.
After the program, each UNC student was tasked with writing a paper discussing the observations and subjects we explored during the week. If you are interested in learning more about my experiences at the Green Bank Observatory, read on.