3.66M Student Radio Telescope

This telescope was built exclusively as a teaching and research tool for undergraduates. It provides student's with a view of the radio sky between 1 and 2 GHz. With the telescope students can study the multitude of cold, extendend hydrogen clouds that dwell within the Milky Way. From studying these clouds they can learn about the properties of the cold interstellar medium; such knowledge is important for understanding the formation of stars and planets. They can also use the clouds to study the morphology and velocity structure of the Milky Way. Below is an atomic hydrogen (also known as HI) map of the Milky Way made by an undergraduate astronomy major (Steven White). Bright red regions correspond to positions where the most HI emission is observed. Click on the picture to view a larger version.

The first stripchart measurement of the Sun and a hydrogen cloud made with the telescope is shown below. Click on the image to view a larger version.

The telescope has recently been upgraded to an Az-El mount with full computer control of both the telescope and receiver. Blue prints for the new mount and a schematic of the receiver system are provided below. Again, click on the image to see a larger version.

Future Directions: Over the next year, a new backend spectrometer will be built for the radio telescope. Automated mapping of galactic HI and OH sources will begin soon. The telescope will also be used for SETI projects and to search for the radio counterpart of gamma ray bursters.