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.
Michael Holstine on the Green Bank Telescope and listening to the whispers of the universe
In Other News…
ACEAP Ambassador Heads into Space as First African-American Woman to Pilot Spacecraft
NSF Awards Funding for Next-Generation VLA Antenna Development
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) $23 million for design and development work on the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA), including producing a prototype antenna.
Andean Science Diplomacy: Interview with Chile’s Ambassador to the U.S., Ambassador Silva
Ambassador Alfonso Silva Navarro leads Chile’s Embassy to the United States since September 2018. His extensive diplomatic career includes being the Chilean Ambassador to Canada, India, and Jamaica, as well as being the Director General on Foreign Affairs at Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
NANOGrav & Green Bank Telescope Poised to Make Groundbreaking Discoveries of Gravitational Wave Universe
For the next three years, astronomers from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) will have increased access and new technologies to use on the National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in their breakthrough scientific studies of gravitational waves.
Astronomers make first clear detection of a moon-forming disc around an exoplanet
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter /submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, astronomers have unambiguously detected the presence of a disc around a planet outside our Solar System for the first time.
AUI and Accumen Partner to Increase Crisis Resilience to Natural and Manmade Disasters for Healthcare Sector
AUI and Accumen, Inc. announced they are partnering to provide services to improve crisis resilience to manmade and natural disasters for the healthcare sector at a historically challenging time.
New Scholarship Established by the AUI Board of Trustees
AUI and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) today announced the establishment of the AUI Board of Trustees NAC Bridge Scholarship Award.
2021 Jansky Lectureship Awarded to Mexican Astronomer
Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) have awarded the 2021 Karl G. Jansky Lectureship to Professor Luis F. Rodriguez of the National University of Mexico (UNAM).
Pride Month Statement
Pride Month is a time for celebration of LGBTQIA+ communities in commemoration of the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. At AUI, we celebrate an environment that is safe and welcoming to all, and the strength that our diversity brings us.
Cyber Expert Wins FBI Community Leadership Award
Robert R. Wells, special agent in charge of the Charlotte Division of the FBI has chosen a local cyber expert as the 2020 Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA) recipient for North Carolina. Torry Crass has been an invaluable partner to the FBI Charlotte field office since 2013.