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Performance Task

Stargazing

  • Explore
  • Did You Know?

Applications of Radio Telescopes

  • search for extraterrestrial life
  • study stars, black holes, and other celestial energy
  • transmit radio light throughout our solar system
  • detect ice on other planets
  • track space probes

Telescope Design

Telescope Design

Design a parabolic radio telescope. Research existing telescopes to help you choose reasonable dimensions for your design. Write and graph an equation that represents the parabolic cross section of your telescope.

Radio telescopes are often arranged in an array. Describe the benefits of this kind of arrangement. Then determine whether your telescope will function independently or as part of an array.


photo of large parabolic radio telescope

Did You Know?

  • Located in Chile's Atacama Desert, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is the world's most powerful radio telescope.
    • ALMA combines 66 radio antennas to create an image comparable to those that could be obtained with a single 46,000-foot-wide dish.
    • Thousands of scientists and engineers took more than 10 years to build the array.
    • At 16,570 feet above sea level, ALMA is above much of the Earth's atmosphere which blurs and distorts light.
    • The Atacama Desert is the driest place on Earth. Almost every night is clear of clouds and free of moisture.
    • The surfaces of the radio dishes are almost perfect. None of the dishes deviate from an exact porabola by more than 20 micrometers, or about 0.00078 inch.
    • To prevent distorting the signal, the electronic detector that amplifies and converts the radio signals collected at each ALMA antenna must be kept at 4 Kelvin (-452° Fahrenheit).

Find Out More — Search Topics

  • ALMA Observatory
  • Radio telescope design