Mopra Observatory
Encyclopedia
The 22-metre Mopra Radio Telescope
, located near Coonabarabran, New South Wales
, is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility
, operated by CSIRO. The name hails from the location of the facility close to Mopra Rock a geological formation overlooking the telescope. It is also close to the Siding Spring optical observatory in the Warrumbungle National Park.
For use as a single-dish, it has niche equipment allowing large bandwidths to be observed at millimeter-wavelengths. Being a part of the Australia Telescope, it is often used in conjunction with other AT antennas (e.g., the Australia Telescope Compact Array
at Narrabri
, and the 64-metre Parkes
dish) to form a Very Long Baseline Interferometry
(VLBI) array.
Commissioned in 2006 was the Mopra Spectrometer (MOPS) "backend" which has a maximum instantaneous bandwidth of 8 GHz, it also has special zoom-modes which allow high resolution studies of up to 16 138 MHz bands over any 8 GHz. It is especially tuned to the high-performance millimeter-wavelength receivers. The main specialty of the instrument is the response of the 3-mm receiver which nominally can observe between 75-115 GHz. New downconversion equipment fine-tuned the 3-mm system while it also received a 12-mm receiver package early-2006.
Until 2006, the telescope was operated on-site by visiting users. The default mode shifted to remote operation from the ATCA, Narrabri in the winter of 2006.
Radio telescope
A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
, located near Coonabarabran, New South Wales
Coonabarabran, New South Wales
Coonabarabran is a town in Warrumbungle Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 2,609.-History and description:...
, is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility
Australia Telescope National Facility
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 's radio astronomy observatories are collectively known as the Australia Telescope National Facility , with the facility supporting Australia's research in radio astronomy....
, operated by CSIRO. The name hails from the location of the facility close to Mopra Rock a geological formation overlooking the telescope. It is also close to the Siding Spring optical observatory in the Warrumbungle National Park.
For use as a single-dish, it has niche equipment allowing large bandwidths to be observed at millimeter-wavelengths. Being a part of the Australia Telescope, it is often used in conjunction with other AT antennas (e.g., the Australia Telescope Compact Array
Australia Telescope Compact Array
The Australia Telescope Compact Array is a radio telescope at the Paul Wild Observatory, twenty five kilometres west of the town of Narrabri in Australia....
at Narrabri
Paul Wild Observatory
A number of major astronomical facilities are located at the Paul Wild Observatory near Narrabri, Australia, including:* The Australia Telescope Compact Array radio telescope...
, and the 64-metre Parkes
Parkes Observatory
The Parkes Observatory is a radio telescope observatory, 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It was one of several radio antennas used to receive live, televised images of the Apollo 11 moon landing on 20 July 1969....
dish) to form a Very Long Baseline Interferometry
Very Long Baseline Interferometry
Very Long Baseline Interferometry is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. It allows observations of an object that are made simultaneously by many telescopes to be combined, emulating a telescope with a size equal to the maximum separation between the telescopes.Data...
(VLBI) array.
Commissioned in 2006 was the Mopra Spectrometer (MOPS) "backend" which has a maximum instantaneous bandwidth of 8 GHz, it also has special zoom-modes which allow high resolution studies of up to 16 138 MHz bands over any 8 GHz. It is especially tuned to the high-performance millimeter-wavelength receivers. The main specialty of the instrument is the response of the 3-mm receiver which nominally can observe between 75-115 GHz. New downconversion equipment fine-tuned the 3-mm system while it also received a 12-mm receiver package early-2006.
Until 2006, the telescope was operated on-site by visiting users. The default mode shifted to remote operation from the ATCA, Narrabri in the winter of 2006.
External links
- Mopra Observatory (ATNF Mopra) official website