From the top
Left: L-band receiver and cryostat inside the focus box (higher res) Right: The Mk 2 and Bosley Cloud from the focus tower (higher res) CREDIT: Megan
Two more photos from the top of the telescope. The image on the left shows the inside of the focus box itself. This always looks quite large from the ground, but it is really quite small. The large vertical metal cylinder is the receiver, the "business-end" of the telescope, which actually collects the radio waves at the focus and sends them down cables to the electronics in the main building below. Several different receivers can be used depending on what frequency is needed for the observations. This one is the L-band receiver and works at a frequency of around 1.4 GHz, a wavelength of 21 cm. The image on the right shows the view in one direction from the narrow walkway which runs round the focus cabin. In the foreground you can see the edge of the Lovell telescope dish, above that is the Mk 2 telescope which you can see is also parked pointing at the zenith for maintenance, and across the flat plains of Cheshire is Bosley Cloud (the pointy hill in the distance, roughly ten miles away).
Posted by Megan on Friday 02nd Jun 2006 (16:14 UTC) | Add a comment | Permalink
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