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July 9, 2005
 
Combine Green Bank Observatory with Cass Railroad Trip
 
by HNN Staff
 
Green Bank, WV (HNN) - The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is home to the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the largest fully steerable dish in the world. If you visit the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, the NRAO is just a few miles north of Cass on Route 92 and is well worth the visit. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory was established in 1956. The Green Bank site in Deer Creek Valley was the first National Radio Astronomy Observatory facility. It was chosen for several reasons. A low population meant little radio interference. Surrounded by National Forest land, future population growth would always be limited.
 

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The mountains form a ring around the valley, creating a natural bowl-shape, blocking out man-made radio signals. Today the site hosts several working radio telescopes ranging in size from 40-foot in diameter to the 140-foot equatorially-mounted telescope. There are three 85-foot telescopes, which are often linked together and used as an interferometer (combining the signals received from all three so they act as one large telescope). Then there is the big boy, The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the GBT, or as it is sometimes called the Great Big Telescope. Its dish is 100 by 110 meters and is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope. The dish is larger than two side-by-side football fields-and seems to dwarf even the surrounding mountains. It is composed of 2004 panels, each corner-mounted on actuators that allow the panel positions to be adjusted, changing the dish configuration. A wheel and track design allows the 16,000,000 pound telescope the mobility to take in the entire sky above five degrees elevation. The receiver arm of the GBT stands higher than the Statue of Liberty.
 
Of the 115 people who work at the facility, only 12 are astronomers. During the course of a year, however, up to 250 astronomers from all over the world use the Green Bank facility. In order to avoid electrical interference, all vehicles used by the staff at the observatory are diesel powered. Located about 30 miles north of Marlinton on Route 92/28, the Green Bank site is a leading center for the growing science of radio astronomy. The site is open for daily tours beginning in mid-June and ending Labor Day. During this period there are eight hour-long tours per day, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Weekend tours are available from Memorial Day to mid-June and during the months of September and October. There are no limitations on photography, so bring your cameras. A trip to the Green Bank site makes a great family outing and the scenery along the way is gorgeous. Tours begin with a brief lecture on the purpose and function of the observatory. A brief film then delves a little deeper into those same matters. A bus tour of the telescopes is then given. Tours are free, on an individual basis. Group tours can be arranged, for a fee. School groups are exempt from this fee.
 
For more information, contact the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box 2, Green Bank WV 24944. Phone 304-456-2011. Web site: www.gb.nrao.edu.
 

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