The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory is a
research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
facility founded in 1960 and located at
Kaleden
Kaleden () is an unincorporated community about midway along the western shore of Skaha Lake in the Okanagan region of south central British Columbia. Adjacent to BC Highway 97, the locality is by road about south of Penticton.
Agriculture
As ea ...
, British Columbia, Canada. The site houses four
radio telescope
A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...
s: an
interferometric
Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber op ...
radio telescope, a 26-m single-dish
antenna
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
, a
solar flux
Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...
monitor, and the
Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment
The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is an interferometric radio telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in British Columbia, Canada which consists of four antennas consisting of 100 x 20 metre cylindrical ...
(CHIME) ā as well as support
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
laboratories
A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...
. The DRAO is operated by the
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics
The NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre (NRC Herzberg, HAA) is the leading Canadian centre for astronomy and astrophysics. It is based in Victoria, British Columbia. The current Director-General, as of 2021, is Luc Simard.
...
of the National Research Council of the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
. The observatory was named an
IEEE Milestone for first
radio astronomical observations using
VLBI
Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. The ...
.
Facilities
Synthesis telescope
The Synthesis Telescope consists of seven nine-metre, metal-mesh reflector antennas along a 600-m east-west baseline. The antennas are equipped with single-circular
polarisation receivers at 408
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is sā1, meaning that one he ...
and dual circular receivers at 1420 MHz, from which all four
Stokes parameters
The Stokes parameters are a set of values that describe the polarization state of electromagnetic radiation. They were defined by George Gabriel Stokes in 1852, as a mathematically convenient alternative to the more common description of incoher ...
may be formed. A
spectrometer
A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomenon where the ...
may also be employed at 1420 MHz for study of the
21-cm hydrogen line. Maps of the sky are formed using the technique of
aperture synthesis
Aperture synthesis or synthesis imaging is a type of interferometry that mixes signals from a collection of telescopes to produce images having the same angular resolution as an instrument the size of the entire collection. At each separation an ...
.
John A. Galt Telescope
The John A. Galt Telescope consists of a single metal-mesh antenna which can be equipped to observe at 408 MHz and at 1.5, 2.7, 4.9, 6.6, and 8.4 GHz, including the hydrogen line near 1.4 GHz, the
OH lines around 1.6 GHz, and the
methanol
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...
line near 6.6 GHz. The telescope, formerly simply referred to as the 26-metre Telescope, was renamed in honour of
John A. Galt, first employee and former director of the DRAO, during a special ceremony in 2014. The Galt telescope was used in the first successful measurements using
very long baseline interferometry
Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. The ...
.
Solar-flux monitor
The monitor consists of two solid-surface dish antennas simultaneously observing at 10.7-cm wavelength, located near Penticton, British Columbia.
Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment
The
Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment
The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is an interferometric radio telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in British Columbia, Canada which consists of four antennas consisting of 100 x 20 metre cylindrical ...
(CHIME) is a radio interferometer which will map the
21 cm line
The hydrogen line, 21 centimeter line, or H I line is the electromagnetic radiation spectral line that is created by a change in the energy state of neutral hydrogen atoms. This electromagnetic radiation has a precise frequency of , w ...
of neutral Hydrogen over the cosmological
redshift
In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous increase in f ...
range of 0.8 to 2.5. It consists of four cylindrical reflector antennas, each 100 metres long and 20 metres wide. Each cylinder will have 256 dual-polarisation feed antennas spaced along the focal line. Data from this telescope will be used to measure
baryon acoustic oscillations
In cosmology, baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) are fluctuations in the density of the visible baryonic matter (normal matter) of the universe, caused by acoustic density waves in the primordial plasma of the early universe. In the same way t ...
, giving a length scale that can be used to measure the expansion history of the universe.
[Listening for the universe to chime in](_blank)
Ivan Semeniuk, The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
, 2017-09-07[Canadian ingenuity crafts game-changing technology for CHIME telescope](_blank)
SpaceDaily, 2017-09-11
Engineering
In addition to observing facilities, the DRAO operates design and development laboratories for receivers and electronics. Projects include instrumentation for external observatories, such as the
Very Large Array
The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, ~ west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twen ...
and the
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) is a submillimetre-wavelength radio telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, US. The telescope is near the summit of Mauna Kea at . Its primary mirror is 15 metres (16.4 yards) across: it is the larg ...
.
See also
*
Algonquin 46m radio telescope
The Algonquin 46m radio telescope (ARO) is a radio telescope at the Algonquin Radio Observatory, Canada. This radio telescope is historically famous for taking part in the first successful very long baseline interferometry experiment in the 196 ...
*
Algonquin Radio Observatory
The Algonquin Radio Observatory (ARO) is a radio observatory located in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1959 in order to host a number of the National Research Council of Canada's (NRC) ongoing experiments in a more ra ...
*
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
The Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) is a national research institute funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, located at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. CITA's mission is "to ...
*
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics
The NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre (NRC Herzberg, HAA) is the leading Canadian centre for astronomy and astrophysics. It is based in Victoria, British Columbia. The current Director-General, as of 2021, is Luc Simard.
...
*
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory
The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, located on Observatory Hill, in Saanich, British Columbia, was completed in 1918 by the Canadian government. The Dominion architect responsible for the building was Edgar Lewis Horwood. The main instrumen ...
*
List of radio telescopes
This is a list of radio telescopes ā over one hundred ā that are or have been used for radio astronomy. The list includes both single dishes and interferometric arrays. The list is sorted by region, then by name; unnamed telescopes are in r ...
References
External links
*
Official site
{{Authority control
Astronomical observatories in Canada
Radio telescopes
Science and technology in Canada
Tourist attractions in the Okanagan
1960 establishments in British Columbia