Chilbolton Observatory
Encyclopedia
The Chilbolton Observatory is a facility for atmospheric and radio research located on the edge of the village of Chilbolton
near Stockbridge
in Hampshire
, England. The facilities are run by the STFC
Radio Communications Research Unit of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
and form part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council
.
propagation and meteorology
. , these includehttp://www.chilbolton.rl.ac.uk/facilities.htm:
, which was decommissioned in 1946. Several sites around the south-east of England were considered for the construction. The site at Chilbolton, on the edge of Salisbury Plain
, was chosen in part because of excellent visibility of the horizon and its relative remoteness from major roads whose cars could cause interference.
The facility was opened in April, 1967. However, within several months of being commissioned the azimuth bearing of the antenna suffered a catastrophic failure. GEC
were contracted to repair the bearing and devised a system to replace the failed part while leaving the 400 tonne
dish ostensibly in-place.
Originally, the antenna was engaged in Ku band
radio astronomy
, but now operates as a S and L band radar.
Chilbolton
Chilbolton is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, near to Stockbridge. Its most notable feature is the Chilbolton Observatory situated on the disused RAF Chilbolton airfield...
near Stockbridge
Stockbridge, Hampshire
Stockbridge is a small town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It has an acreage of and a population of little under 600 people according to the 2001 census in Hampshire, England. It lies on the River Test, in the Test Valley district and renowned for trout fishing. The A30 road goes through...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England. The facilities are run by the STFC
Science and Technology Facilities Council
The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a UK government body that carries out civil research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astronomy .-History:It was formed in April 2007 as a merger of the Particle...
Radio Communications Research Unit of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory is one of the national scientific research laboratories in the UK operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council . It is located on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus at Chilton near Didcot in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom...
and form part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council
Science and Technology Facilities Council
The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a UK government body that carries out civil research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astronomy .-History:It was formed in April 2007 as a merger of the Particle...
.
Overview
The Chilbolton Observatory operates many pieces of research equipment associated with radarRadar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
propagation and meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
. , these includehttp://www.chilbolton.rl.ac.uk/facilities.htm:
- An S bandS bandThe S band is defined by an IEEE standard for radio waves with frequencies that range from 2 to 4 GHz, crossing the conventional boundary between UHF and SHF at 3.0 GHz. It is part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum...
Doppler weather radarWeather radarWeather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
with its distinctive, fully steerable, 25 metre parabolic antenna. This equipment can be referred to as CAMRa (Chilbolton Advanced Meteorological Radar). - An L bandL bandL band refers to four different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum: 40 to 60 GHz , 1 to 2 GHz , 1565 nm to 1625 nm , and around 3.5 micrometres .-NATO L band:...
Clear-air radar - A W bandW bandThe W band of the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum ranges from 75 to 110 GHz. It sits above the U.S. IEEE designated V band in frequency, yet overlaps the NATO designated M band...
bistatic zenith radar - A UV RamanRaman scatteringRaman scattering or the Raman effect is the inelastic scattering of a photon. It was discovered by Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman and Kariamanickam Srinivasa Krishnan in liquids, and by Grigory Landsberg and Leonid Mandelstam in crystals....
LidarLIDARLIDAR is an optical remote sensing technology that can measure the distance to, or other properties of a target by illuminating the target with light, often using pulses from a laser... - Multiple Ka bandKa bandThe Ka band covers the frequencies of 26.5–40 GHz. The Ka band is part of the K band of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum. This symbol refers to "K-above" — in other words, the band directly above the K-band...
radiometers - Multiple rain gaugeRain gaugeA rain gauge is a type of instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of time....
s
Timeline of projects
- 1998 - CLARE'98 Cloud Lidar and Radar experimenthttp://www.chilbolton.rl.ac.uk/clare.htm, which eventually fed into the European Space AgencyEuropean Space AgencyThe European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
EarthCARE programmehttp://www.esa.int/esaLP/LPearthcare.html - 2001 to 2004 - CLOUDMAP2http://www.cloudmap2.rl.ac.uk/ project to assist in Numerical weather predictionNumerical weather predictionNumerical weather prediction uses mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to predict the weather based on current weather conditions. Though first attempted in the 1920s, it was not until the advent of computer simulation in the 1950s that numerical weather predictions produced realistic...
models - 2006 - Chilbolton Observatory joined forces with several European Space Agency sites to verify the L band radio transmissions from the GIOVE-A satellitehttp://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM21VMVGJE_Improving_0.html
- 2006 - NERCNatural Environment Research CouncilThe Natural Environment Research Council is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.-History:...
Cirrus and Anvils: European Satellite and Airborne Radiation measurements project - 2008 - In-Orbit Test (IOT) performed for GIOVE-B
- 2008-9 - APPRAISEhttp://ncasweb.leeds.ac.uk/appraise/, during which the CAMRa and Lidar were used to direct airborne measurements in mixed-phase clouds
History
Construction of Chilbolton Observatory started in 1963. It was built partially on the site of RAF ChilboltonRAF Chilbolton
RAF Station Chilbolton is a former World War II airfield in Hampshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southeast of Andover; about southwest of London...
, which was decommissioned in 1946. Several sites around the south-east of England were considered for the construction. The site at Chilbolton, on the edge of Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
, was chosen in part because of excellent visibility of the horizon and its relative remoteness from major roads whose cars could cause interference.
The facility was opened in April, 1967. However, within several months of being commissioned the azimuth bearing of the antenna suffered a catastrophic failure. GEC
GEC
The three-letter acronym GEC may mean* Government Engineering College, Delhi, India* Government Engineering College, Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar, India* Goa Engineering College, Goa, India* Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, Trivandrum...
were contracted to repair the bearing and devised a system to replace the failed part while leaving the 400 tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
dish ostensibly in-place.
Originally, the antenna was engaged in Ku band
Ku band
The Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
radio astronomy
Radio astronomy
Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, when Karl Jansky observed radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observations have identified a number of...
, but now operates as a S and L band radar.