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Haystack Observatory is a multidisciplinary radio science center, ionospheric observatory, and astronomical
microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ra ...
observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. ...
owned by
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
(MIT). It is located in
Westford, Massachusetts Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was at 24,643 at the time of the 2020 Census. History Westford began as 'West Chelmsford', a village in the town of Chelmsford. The village of West Chelmsfor ...
(US), approximately northwest of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. Haystack was initially built by MIT's
Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and d ...
for the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
and was known as Haystack Microwave Research Facility. Construction began in 1960, and the antenna began operating in 1964. In 1970 the facility was transferred to MIT, which then formed the Northeast Radio Observatory Corporation (NEROC) with a number of other universities to operate the site as the Haystack Observatory. , a total of nine institutions participated in NEROC. The Haystack Observatory site is also the location of the Millstone Hill Geospace Facility, an atmospheric sciences research center. Lincoln Laboratory continues to use the site, which it calls the Lincoln Space Surveillance Complex (LSSC). The George R. Wallace Astrophysical Observatory of MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences is located south of the Haystack dome and east of the Westford dome. The Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston has its clubhouse on the MIT property. Haystack Vallis on Mercury is named after this observatory.


Telescopes and radars


Haystack Radio Telescope

The Haystack Radio Telescope is a
parabolic antenna A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or par ...
protected by a metal-frame
radome A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and conceal antenna e ...
. It is known as the Haystack Long-Range Imaging Radar (LRIR) or Haystack Ultrawideband Satellite Imaging Radar (HUSIR) when used for the LSSC. It was constructed for use in space tracking and communication, but now is used primarily for astronomy. It was completed in 1964 and originally observed at 8 GHz on the
radio spectrum The radio spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies from 0  Hz to 3,000  GHz (3  THz). Electromagnetic waves in this frequency range, called radio waves, are widely used in modern technology, particul ...
. Since then it has been upgraded to listen to other frequency bands, though not simultaneously. When used for
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...
it broadcasts and listens in bands at either 10 GHz or 95 GHz. The main dish was upgraded in 2006, which allowed operation at frequencies up to 150 GHz. The secondary reflector of the Cassegrain design features an
active surface An active surface is a surface of a radio telescope that is under active computer control of its shape. Large (more than 10 m in diameter or length) radio telescopes always bend during operation, due to their enormous weight and the fact tha ...
.


Haystack Radar operations

The Long-Range Imaging Radar (LRIR) system was originally designed to function as an
X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxi ...
long-range imaging radar. In wideband mode, LRIR runs at 10 GHz with a 1.024 GHz bandwidth. The system was capable of sensitivity of 25 cm resolution, allowing for tracking and imaging
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
s out to
geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitu ...
distances, as well as deep space objects out to range. The radar was upgraded with a completely new antenna capable of dual-band operations, called Haystack Ultrawideband Satellite Imaging Radar (HUSIR). The system is capable of simultaneous operations in
X band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxi ...
and W-band, which allows it to better determine the size, shape, orientation, and motion of orbiting objects. The HUSIR design allows for tracking object with 0.5 millidegree accuracy. The W-band operates between 92 and 100 GHz, with a bandwidth of 8 GHz. The system contributes data to the
United States Space Surveillance Network The United States Space Surveillance Network (SSN) detects, tracks, catalogs and identifies artificial objects orbiting Earth, e.g. active/inactive satellites, spent rocket bodies, or fragmentation debris. The system is the responsibility of Uni ...
(SSN).


Haystack Auxiliary Radar

The Haystack Auxiliary Radar (HAX) is Ku-band system with a
dish antenna A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or ...
. It was constructed in 1993 to augment the LSSC imaging and data collections
space debris Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, or space garbage) are defunct human-made objects in space—principally in Earth orbit—which no longer serve a useful function. These include derelict spacec ...
. It contributes data to the SSN.


Westford Radio Telescope

The Westford Radio Telescope was built in 1961 by Lincoln Laboratory for Project West Ford as an
X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxi ...
radar antenna. It is located approximately south of the Haystack telescope along the same access road. The antenna is housed in a radome and has an elevation-azimuth mount. Since 1981, it has been used primarily for geodetic
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. T ...
(VLBI). By measuring the location of astronomical radio sources very accurately, geodetic VLBI techniques can be used to measure things such as changes in the
axial tilt In astronomy, axial tilt, also known as obliquity, is the angle between an object's rotational axis and its orbital axis, which is the line perpendicular to its orbital plane; equivalently, it is the angle between its equatorial plane and orb ...
of the Earth.


Event Horizon Telescope

Haystack serves as a computational hub for the
Event Horizon Telescope The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a large Astronomical interferometer, telescope array consisting of a global network of radio telescopes. The EHT project combines data from several very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) stations around Ear ...
, an assemblage of radio telescopes around Earth that combine data for
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. Th ...
(VLBI) to achieve
angular resolution Angular resolution describes the ability of any image-forming device such as an optical or radio telescope, a microscope, a camera, or an eye, to distinguish small details of an object, thereby making it a major determinant of image resolut ...
capable of imaging a
supermassive black hole A supermassive black hole (SMBH or sometimes SBH) is the largest type of black hole, with its mass being on the order of hundreds of thousands, or millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun (). Black holes are a class of astronomical ob ...
's
event horizon In astrophysics, an event horizon is a boundary beyond which events cannot affect an observer. Wolfgang Rindler coined the term in the 1950s. In 1784, John Michell proposed that gravity can be strong enough in the vicinity of massive compact ob ...
. Data are transported on large hard drives from the observing telescopes to Haystack, where a cluster of about 800 CPUs run algorithms to produce black hole imagery. The computation has been termed a "silicon lens", as each the data from each telescope is useless by itself and must be computationally combined to produce an image.


Former telescopes

* The Deuterium Array was a 25-element radio telescope array optimized to observe at 327 MHz, which is one of the
emission line A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to identi ...
s of
deuterium Deuterium (or hydrogen-2, symbol or deuterium, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen (the other being protium, or hydrogen-1). The nucleus of a deuterium atom, called a deuteron, contains one proton and one ...
. Each element, or station, was itself a 25-element array of
dipole In physics, a dipole () is an electromagnetic phenomenon which occurs in two ways: *An electric dipole deals with the separation of the positive and negative electric charges found in any electromagnetic system. A simple example of this system ...
s. The array operated from 2004 to 2006.


Millstone Hill Geospace Facility

Millstone Hill Geospace Facility is a
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
atmospheric sciences research centre in
Westford, Massachusetts Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was at 24,643 at the time of the 2020 Census. History Westford began as 'West Chelmsford', a village in the town of Chelmsford. The village of West Chelmsfor ...
, under primary support from the US National Science Foundation's Geospace Facilities section. It is part of Haystack Observatory, a multidisciplinary radio science observatory. Millstone Hill is the location for two of the most well-known incoherent scatter radars in the world. These include a fully steerable 46-meter antenna called Millstone Hill Steerable Antenna (MISA), and a 68-meter fixed zenith antenna. These radars are capable of measuring a vast array of
ionospheric The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an ...
state variables, including electron density, plasma temperature, ion velocity, and ion composition. Data from Millstone Hill is publicly available on th
MADRIGAL
distributed database, an
upper atmosphere Upper atmosphere is a collective term that refers to various layers of the atmosphere of the Earth above the troposphere and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets, and includes: * The mesosphere, which on Earth lies between th ...
data system managed by MIT Haystack.


Millstone Hill Steerable Antenna

The Millstone Hill Steerable Antenna (MISA) is a fully steerable
UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...
antenna. Built in 1963, the system was initially installed at the Sagamore Hill Air Force facility in
Hamilton, Massachusetts Hamilton is a town in the eastern central portion of Essex County in eastern Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 7,561. Currently the town has no manufacturing industry and no industrially-zoned land. Though ...
, and was relocated as part of Millstone Hill at the Haystack Observatory complex in 1978. It is primarily used as an upper atmospheric radar observatory using incoherent scatter radar techniques.


Zenith Antenna

The Zenith antenna was constructed in 1963 to use with the
UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
. The radar transmitter was previously connected to a steerable 84-foot antenna with a UHF horn feed. When the steerable 84' antenna was converted to a higher
L-band The L band is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designation for the range of frequencies in the radio spectrum from 1 to 2 gigahertz (GHz). This is at the top end of the ultra high frequency (UHF) band, at the lowe ...
frequency, the Zenith antenna was connected to the UHF transmitter and was dedicated exclusively to incoherent scatter radar observations of the mid-latitude ionosphere.


Directors

Paul B. Sebring was the Haystack Observatory's director from 1970 to 1980. From 1980 to 1983 John V. Evans was the director. Joseph E. Salah was the director from 1983 to 2006, Alan R. Whitney was the interim director from 2006 to 2008, and Colin J. Lonsdale became the director on 1 September 2008.


See also

* Sagamore Hill Radio Observatory *
List of astronomical observatories This is a list of astronomical observatories ordered by name, along with initial dates of operation (where an accurate date is available) and location. The list also includes a final year of operation for many observatories that are no longer in ...
* '' Knowing'' * Project West Ford


Exhibits


The ''Sun Drawing'' Exhibit

The ''Sun Drawing'' art exhibit at the Haystack Observatory was conceived and developed as part of the ''Global Sun Drawing Project'' by visual artist Janet Saad-Cook. "''Sun Drawings''" are projected images created by reflecting sunlight from a variety of materials that are strategically positioned to relate to their specific location on earth. The reflections change shape and color in relation to the position of the sun, creating a four-dimensional artwork of varying reflections throughout the day and year. Similar installations for the ''Global Sun Drawing Project'' have been planned at other astronomically significant locations worldwide, including an exhibit at the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico.


References


External links

*
MIT Haystack Observatory

MIT Haystack Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences

Lincoln Laboratory

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry
{{Authority control
Astronomical observatories in Massachusetts Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Buildings and structures in Westford, Massachusetts Radio telescopes Radar networks United States Space Surveillance Network