Michael Holstine on the Green Bank Telescope and listening to the whispers of the universe

The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in Green Bank, West Virginia, US is the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. It is situated in the National Radio Quiet Zone, a unique area where authorities limit all radio transmissions to avoid emissions toward the GBT. The location of the telescope within the Radio Quiet Zone allows for the detection of faint radio-frequency signals from the universe, which man-made signals might otherwise mask. The observatory borders National Forest land, and the Allegheny Mountains shield it from some radio interference. The telescope’s location has been the site of important radio astronomy telescopes since 1957. It currently houses seven additional telescopes, and in spite of its somewhat remote location, receives about 40,000 visitors each year, from high school students to PhD candidates to visiting researchers. Since October 1, 2016, the telescope has been operated by the newly separated Green Bank Observatory to deal with pending budget cuts. The telescope honors the name of the late Senator Robert C. Byrd who represented West Virginia and who pushed the funding of the telescope through Congress.

In Other News…

Now Accepting Applications for 2023 Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program

ACEAP 2020 cohort at the ALMA facilities in San Pedro de Atacama in front of one of the ALMA's antennas. (December 2022) Photo Credit: David Falkner ACEAP 2020 AmbassadorApplications are now being accepted for the 2023 Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program...

ALMA Traces History of Water in Planet Formation Back to the Interstellar Medium

This news article was originally published on NRAO.edu on March 8, 2023.Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF) Observations of water in the disk forming around protostar V883 Ori have unlocked clues about the formation of comets and planetesimals in...

Extreme Galaxy Reveals Clues to Early Supermassive Black Hole Formation

This news article was originally published on NRAO.edu on February 24, 2023.Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; Dana Berry / SkyWorks; ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) A bright, revealing source While studying galaxies in the early Universe with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array...

ALMA Soon to Receive a New Brain

This news article was originally published on NRAO.edu on February 7, 2023.Carlos Padilla, NRAO/AUI/NSF The world’s most powerful millimeter/ submillimeter telescope has received approval for central correlator and digital transmission system upgrades that will...

French Astronomer Honored as 2022 Jansky Lecturer

This news article was originally published on NRAO.edu on February 5, 2023.Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSFAssociated Universities, Inc. (AUI) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) have awarded the 2022 Karl G. Jansky Lectureship to Professor Françoise Combes, Chair...

NSF and SpaceX Finalize Radio Spectrum Coordination Agreement

This news article was originally published on NRAO.edu on January 10, 2023.Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF, Jeff HellermanThe National Science Foundation (NSF) and SpaceX have finalized a radio spectrum coordination agreement to limit interference from the company’s Starlink...

ALMA and JWST Reveal Galactic Shock is Shaping Stephan’s Quintet in Mysterious Ways

This news article was originally published on NRAO.edu on January 9, 2023.Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/JWST/ P. Appleton (Caltech), B.Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)Shockwaves resulting from the violent collision between an intruder galaxy and Stephan’s Quintet are helping...

ALMA Scientists Find Pair of Black Holes Dining Together in Nearby Galaxy Merger

This news article was originally published on NRAO.edu on January 9, 2023.Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), M. Weiss (NRAO/AUI/NSF)While studying a nearby pair of merging galaxies using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)— an international observatory...

Hydrogen Masers Reveal New Secrets of a Massive Star to ALMA Scientists

This news article was originally published on NRAO.edu on January 9, 2023.Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), M. Weiss (NRAO/AUI/NSF)Scientists used the unique hydrogen radio recombination lines on MWC 349A to reveal hidden collimated jets While using the Atacama Large...

Northwest Indian College Hosts Inaugural Cosmovisions of the Pacific Meeting

Bellingham, Washington – Over 14,000 years ago, Indigenous groups in the Pacific traveled by boat, guided by starlight, and likely settled the West Coast of the Americas. Today, Indigenous and non-indigenous people gathered at Northwest Indian College (NWIC) to...

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