NRAO eNews
October 2008 • Vol. 1, Iss. 5
- The Expansion of Supernova Remnant G21.5–0.9: Is PSR J1833–1034 the Youngest Pulsar?
- Discovery of a Small Group Driving the Evolution of an Edge-On Spiral Galaxy
- Cosmic Rays and the Magnetic Field in the Nearby Starburst Galaxy NGC 253
- Neutral Hydrogen Clouds in the M81/M82 Group
- ALMA Project Progress
- North American ALMA Science Center
- The ALMA Spectral Line Catalog
- The Birth and Feedback of Massive Stars, Within and Beyond the Galaxy: The NAASC Science Workshop for 2008
- Current Status
- VLA Configuration Schedule, Proposals, and Scheduling
- VLBA and HSA Proposals and Scheduling
- Global cm VLBI Proposals
- VLA and EVLA Spectral Line Observations Below 1200 MHz
- Status of Observing with the Transition Array
- VLBA Sensitivity Upgrade Project
- First 3mm Science Observations with the GBT and MUSTANG Call for Proposals
- The GBT Dynamic Scheduling System Update
- Progress on the Ka-Band Focal Plane Array for the GBT
- Opportunities for University-Led Technical Development Projects in Green Bank
- New NRAO Website Debuts
- The NRAO at the American Astronomical Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science Meetings
- Call for GBT Shared-Risk MUSTANG Proposals
- Large Proposals to Use NRAO Telescopes
- Chris Carilli Appointed Observatory Chief Scientist
- Eleventh Synthesis Imaging Workshop
- 2008 Grote Reber Medal Awarded to Sandy Weinreb
- NRAO Participates in the BEYA Conference
- NRAO Business Managers Meet in Chile
- NRAO Library News
- Past Issues
- Contact the Editor
- Subscribe
- More Information
NRAO Newsletter • April 2008 • Issue 115
Opportunities for University-Led Technical Development Projects in Green Bank
In addition to supporting scientific operation of the flagship 100m Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the Green Bank site provides other resources which we make available to the scientific community, including access to the National Radio Quiet Zone, antenna test ranges and similar facilities, and the scientific and engineering expertise of our staff.
As well as scientific proposals submitted through the usual route, we welcome proposals for development to enhance the GBT’s capabilities. In addition, the NRAO has preserved older telescopes for potential future use. We encourage the use of these telescopes for scientific or technical research, provided the prospective users obtain full external funding for the staff and materials costs of operation. For example, in 2003 Tim Bastian (NRAO) and collaborators received a three year Major Research Initiative (MRI) grant from the NSF Atmospheric Sciences Division to develop the Green Bank Solar Radio Burst Spectrometer (GB/SRBS), an instrument to receive solar radio emissions to probe a wide variety of active solar phenomena. The SRBS uses the Green Bank 45 Foot telescope to observe the Sun on a daily basis. As another example, MIT/Lincoln Laboratories have provided funding for technology development and operations of the Green Bank 140 Foot (43m) telescope to measure the dynamic properties of the Earth’s ionosphere. For this project the 43m control system was completely automated to reduce the operations costs. This project is expected to continue for the next few years.
A panoramic view of the Green Bank site showing a number of the telescopes.
Other telescopes on site include three 26m antennas from the Green Bank Interferometer project, and the 20 meter telescope. The latter was mothballed in 2000 following the end of USNO Geodetic VLBI operations at Green Bank, but reactivated in 2007 as part of our collaboration with Brigham Young University on phased array feed development.
Prospective users of these telescopes must secure outside funding independent of NRAO Operations funds, which are intended primarily for operation of the GBT and associated activities. Some limited assistance from NRAO may be available for projects which directly support NRAO’s primary mission (for example, training young scientists and engineers). For telescopes already in use, future projects would obviously have to be consistent with current agreements. However, there is still the potential for collaborative operation of these, provided suitable accommodations can be made.
If anyone is interested in pursuing the use of any of these telescopes, we encourage them to contact Karen O’Neil (koneil@nrao.edu) for further discussions.
R. M. Prestage and K. L. O'Neil
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