Throwback Thursday: NRAO Green Bank Telescope

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A very, very long time ago, Chris and I lived in Elkins, West Virginia. In 2008, the two of us drove 1-2 hours to visit the Green Bank Radio Astronomy Observatory located in the same state. I was a nerd-in-training then so the immensity of its importance didn't strike me at the time, but I still found the experience worth remembering. And I had fun taking pictures.


You are not allowed to use digital photography close up, so this is the best photo I got. The sun was setting. It made everything very picturesque. 

The telescope is used in a number of sciences including Chemistry and Physics. Here's what the website has to say about its use in Planetary Science:
When the GBT is used as a partner with a transmitting radar antenna, it can be used to map asteroids, moons, planets, and comets to a level of accuracy that is often better than spacecraft which are actually in orbit around those objects. Also, radar penetrates the soft surfaces on some of these worlds, giving geologists the kind of details they could only have gotten by landing on them. 
Visitors are guided on a tour throughout the facility. You can also take part in demonstrations at the science center on site. When the two of us went the educator provided a demonstration that involved pouring liquid nitrogen across the floor. It was COOL. Literally.

It's a neat place to check out. For more information on what projects the telescope is currently involved in, check out "Green Bank in the News." As an example, the GBT helped scientists discover that our Milky Way Galaxy is part of a super cluster of galaxies that stretches nearly 500 million light years across.

The site is open nearly every day (closed on major holidays) with varying hours depending on season. For more information, visit the Visit the GBT website.

If you've visited the GBT I'd love to see any of your photos! Feel free to leave them in a comment :-)


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