Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory

The Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory is a radio-astronomy-based observatory owned and operated by the University of Tasmania, located 20 km east of Hobart in Cambridge, Tasmania.^[1] It is home to three radio astronomy antennas and the Grote Reber Museum.

Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory

The large number of available receivers makes the telescope suitable for a variety of research projects within the University of Tasmania and its location makes it a vital element in the Australian Long Baseline Array network.
Organization	University of Tasmania
Location	Cambridge, Tasmania, Australia
Coordinates	42°48′13″S 147°26′26″E
Altitude	43 m (141 ft)
Established	13 May 1986
Website	ra-wiki.phys.utas.edu.au
Telescopes	AuScope Hobart Antenna Mount Pleasant Antenna Vela Antenna
Location of Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory
Related media on Commons

Equipment

The observatory has two active radio telescopes: the Mount Pleasant 26 m antenna and a 12 m AuScope VLBI Antenna. The Observatory is linked to the University of Tasmania's Hobart campus with a 25 km fibre optic cable, installed in 2007.^[2][3]

The 26-metre dish at Mount Pleasant as seen at night

The 14 m Vela telescope that was constructed in 1981 as a dedicated instrument for observation of the Vela Pulsar was decommissioned in 2006, after which a refurbishing process began. The telescope tracked the pulsar 18 hours per day, nearly continuously for over 20 years.^[1][4]

The 26 m Radio dish came from the Orroral Valley Tracking Station in the Australian Capital Territory, where it was used as a satellite tracker within the Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network and then for support to NASA manned missions.^[5] The 26 m telescope is used in Australia's very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) network.^[1]

Other telescopes

The University of Tasmania also operates three other radio astronomy antennas: the 30 m Ceduna Radio Observatory (South Australia) and two additional AuScope 12 m antennas at Katherine (Northern Territory) and Yaragadee (Western Australia).

The University also owns and operates the Bisdee Tier Optical Astronomy Observatory. The Canopus Hill Observatory is closed.

Museum

An on-site museum is dedicated to the life and works of Grote Reber; it contains some of his ashes and a 3D theatre. It also discusses Tasmania's major role in radiophysics. The museum hosts about 5000 visitors annually and runs several Open Days each year. Some University of Tasmania students act as tour guides as part of their studies.

See also

• List of radio telescopes

References

1. Johnston-Hollitt, Melanie (August 2004). "Mt Pleasant Observatory". School of Mathematics & Physics, University of Tasmania. Archived from the original on 16 June 2005. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
2. Reid, Brett; John M. Dickey (2006). "Hobart, Mt. Pleasant, Station Report for 2006" (PDF). University of Tasmania, Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
3. "Big technical advance for Tasmania's radio telescope" (2:40 pm AEST). ABC News. 27 April 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
4. Dodson, Richard; Dion Lewis; Peter McCulloch (20 March 2007). "Two decades of pulsar timing of Vela". Astrophysics and Space Science. 308 (1–4). Netherlands: 585–589. arXiv:astro-ph/0612371. Bibcode:2007Ap&SS.308..585D. doi:10.1007/s10509-007-9372-4. ISSN 0004-640X. S2CID 7240348.
5. Mackellar, Colin. "A STADAN antenna: Satellite Tracking and Data Acquisition Network". Retrieved 12 August 2009.

External links

• University of Tasmania website on observatory
• Grote Reber Museum