Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory

Coordinates: 25°53′25″S 27°41′08″E / 25.89037°S 27.68558°E / -25.89037; 27.68558
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory
DSS 51 at Hartebeesthoek
Alternative namesHartRAO Edit this at Wikidata
Organization
LocationGauteng, Transvaal region
Coordinates25°53′25″S 27°41′08″E / 25.89037°S 27.68558°E / -25.89037; 27.68558
Established
  • Deep Space Station 51 - 1961; 63 years ago (1961)
  • Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory - 1975; 49 years ago (1975)
Websitewww.hartrao.ac.za Edit this at Wikidata
Telescopes
  • HartRAO 26m Radio Telescope
  • MeerKAT prototype dish Edit this on Wikidata
Map
  Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) is a

National Research Foundation. HartRAO was the only major radio astronomy observatory in Africa until the construction of the KAT-7 test bed for the future MeerKAT array in the Meerkat National Park
.

History

The HartRAO original control building.

The observatory was originally named Deep Space Station 51 (DSS 51) and was built in 1961 by the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).[1] In this role the station assisted in tracking many unmanned United States space missions, including the Ranger, Surveyor and Lunar Orbiter spacecraft (which landed on the Moon or mapped it from orbit), the Mariner missions (which explored the planets Venus and Mars) and the Pioneer missions (which measured the Sun
's winds).

The first Mars surface images from Mariner 4 were received at DSS 51.[2]

NASA withdrew from the station in 1975, handing it over to South Africa's

National Research Foundation (NRF).[3]
: 335 

As of 2011[update], NASA continues to contract for launch tracking services on an as-needed basis, and did so for the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory on 26 November 2011.[4]

The Radio Telescope

The observatory is equipped with a single 260 ton radio telescope with a main reflecting surface diameter of 26 metres. The telescope is equipped with radio receivers operating in the microwave band at wavelengths of 18 cm, 13 cm, 6 cm, 4.5 cm, 3.5 cm, 2.5 cm and 1.3 cm.[5]

Research

HartRAO is used for continuum

Very Long Baseline Interferometry
(VLBI) observations.

HartRAO is an associate member of the European VLBI Network, but also operates with the Australia Telescope Long Baseline Array, the Asia-Pacific Telescope, the United States Very Long Baseline Array and the Global Array.

HartRAO also runs a

Space Geodesy programme using VLBI, Satellite laser ranging and the Global Positioning System
. Development work of a Lunar Laser Ranger (LLR) has commenced, based on a 1 m optical telescope. The LLR system will use a 100 mJ, 20 Hz, 80 ps pulse length laser to range to corner cube reflector arrays on the Moon.

The observatory also provides students and lecturers from South African universities the facilities and opportunities to perform research.

Involvement with the Karoo Array Telescope Project

The XDM, a prototype dish for the MeerKAT radio telescope, was constructed at HartRAO. The XDM dish design was first used in KAT-7, a seven-dish engineering testbed and science instrument in the Meerkat National Park in Carnarvon, Northern Cape. KAT-7, completed in 2012, marked the first stage of MeerKAT development.

Gallery

  • MeerKAT prototype
    MeerKAT prototype
  • C-BASS South prototype
    C-BASS South prototype

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory.

References

  1. National Research Foundation of South Africa. Archived from the original
    on 9 March 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  2. ISBN 978-90-481-9007-2
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 9781920289805
    .
  4. ^ "NASA TV coverage of Mars Science Lander launch". NASA TV. NASA. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  5. ^ "HartRAO 26m Radio Telescope Details". Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hartebeesthoek_Radio_Astronomy_Observatory&oldid=1168834841"