Effelsberg radio telescope

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Telescope
radio telescope Effelsberg
View of the radio telescope
View of the radio telescope
Type Large telescope (radio range)
Location near Bad Münstereifel - Effelsberg , North Rhine-Westphalia

height 319  m above sea level NN
Geographic coordinates 50 ° 31 '29.2 "  N , 6 ° 53' 2.3"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 31 '29.2 "  N , 6 ° 53' 2.3"  E
wavelength 3.5 to 900 mm
Aperture 100 m

construction time 1967 to 1971
Installation August 1, 1972
Specialty Largest mobile radio telescope on earth for 29 years
Aerial view of the radio telescope
General view of the radio telescope

The Radio Telescope Effelsberg is a radio telescope in the Eifel part of the Ahr Mountains . It is near Effelsberg in the North Rhine-Westphalian district of Euskirchen ( Germany ). The aperture (opening width) of the large radio astronomy telescope built from 1967 to 1971 and commissioned in 1972 is 100 m.

It was the world's largest mobile radio telescope for 29 years until the Robert C. Byrd telescope in Green Bank ( USA ) was completed in 2000 (aperture 100–110 m).

Geographical location

The Effelsberg radio telescope is located around 1.3 km (as the crow flies ) northeast of Effelsberg in the Ahr Mountains , a south-eastern district of Bad Münstereifel (Euskirchen district). It stands west of about 398  m above sea level. NHN high Hühnerberg, the hilltop of which is only 275 m northeast of the telescope in the east bordering Rhineland-Palatinate in the municipality of Kirchsahr ( district of Ahrweiler ). The radio telescope itself is located at a height of 319  m .

The state border is formed in the area of ​​the telescope by a section of the Effelsberger Bach , which flows a few meters east of the radio telescope , a 6.5 km long western tributary of the 15.3 km long Sahrbach in the Ahr catchment area, coming from the Effelsberg Forest . Around 90 m southeast of the telescope , the 1.9 km long Rötzelbach, coming from the west-southwest of Lethert , flows into it .

Radio telescope

description

The Effelsberg radio telescope is part of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn . It was built between 1968 and 1971 by a joint venture between the MAN plant in Gustavsburg and Friedrich Krupp AG and put into operation on August 1, 1972. The technical difficulties in manufacturing a radio telescope with a diameter of 100 m stem from the deformation of the mirror caused by gravity during movement and tilting, which disrupts the structural structure of the parabolic mirror . In radio astronomy , however, the geometrical properties of such mirrors are particularly interesting because the waves collected parallel to the axis are all reflected in the same phase relation to the focal point and thus enable maximum amplification. With the help of the finite element method, the construction was calculated in such a way that the deformations of the mirror that occur in every mirror position and with every tracking movement again result in parabolic properties, so that only the receiver has to be tracked to the new focal point. After completion of the radio telescope, measurements could show that the mirror's original tolerance of 1 mm could be clearly undercut. Currently (2012) the mean deviation from the ideal paraboloid is less than 0.6 mm.

Visitor pavilion at the radio telescope

The valley location between the surrounding mountains largely protects the telescope from radiation from civilization-related radio sources. Broadcasting stations were banned from the area. In order to avoid interference, the use of some frequencies of the BOS radio is not permitted within a 150 km radius. Only the 72 “Effelsberg frequencies” may be used within this radius. Effelsberg is part of the European VLBI Network (EVN). Around 45% of the observation time is given to external astronomers.

The Effelsberg radio telescope served as a template for the 500 pfennigs postage stamp of the definitive series Industry and Technology of the Deutsche Bundespost.

Technical specifications

Some data
Altitude (upper edge of rail): 319  m above sea level NN
Altitude (intersection of the main axes): 369  m above sea level NN
Foundation concrete quantity: 5200 m³
Foundation diameter: 64 m
Total mass: 3200 t
Mass of the tiltable part (approx.): 1950 t
Number of surface panels: 2360
Surface: 7850 m²
Aperture (opening width): 100 m
Maximum height at maximum incline: 109 m
Focal length: 30 m
Mirror depth: 20.83 m
Thickness of the tubes: 51-419 mm
Surface accuracy: <0.5 mm
Angular resolution: > 10 "
Horizontal rotation: 15 min / 360 °
Vertical rotation: 5 min / from 7.5 ° to 90 °
Construction: Community of Krupp and MAN

LOFAR station

There is a LOFAR station on the site , which was put into operation in 2007 (low-frequency part) and 2009 (high-frequency part).

Planet path and radio telescope path

The 13 km long radio telescope path runs from Bad Münstereifel to the radio telescope . Part of this hiking trail has been an 800 m long planetary path since autumn 2004 with information boards about the solar system with the sun and its planets including the dwarf planet Pluto , which is 766 m away from the sun when viewed to scale along the path. The path ends at a model of the sun with a diameter of 39 cm in the visitor pavilion of the radio telescope.

Neighboring facilities

Another radio telescope, the Astropeiler Stockert (25 m diameter), is located 12.4 km (as the crow flies) west-northwest of the Effelsberg radio telescope on the Stockert near Bad Münstereifel- Eschweiler .

gallery

  • Radio telescope with access road

  • Side view

  • Effelsberg radio telescope from afar

  • Effelsberg radio telescope up close

  • Detail: bowl holder and bowl

  • 500 pfennigs postage stamp of the definitive series Industry and Technology of the Deutsche Bundespost (1976)

  • Low-frequency LOFAR station at the Effelsberg radio telescope

  • High-frequency LOFAR station at the Effelsberg radio telescope

See also

Web links

Commons : Radio Telescope Effelsberg  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Technical data of the 100 m telescope in facts → Technical data (Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy), accessed on February 10, 2013, at mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
  2. ↑ a b Radio Telescope Effelsberg (main page; Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy), accessed on February 10, 2013, at mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
  3. ↑ H. Altmann: The steel structure of the 100 m radio telescope in Effelsberg. In: Der Stahlbau, 41st year, 1972, pp. 321–331 and pp. 360–367
  4. ↑ Radio Astronomy 40 Years Ago - The Path to the 100- Meter Telescope , in Popular Lectures (Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy), accessed on February 10, 2013, at mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
  5. ↑ https://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/lofar/erste_deutsche_station
  6. ↑ Planet Path and Radioteleskopweg: Page 1 and Page 2 , in Visitors → Planet Path (Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy), accessed on February 10, 2013, on mpifr-bonn.mpg.de