MORGANTOWN — The Green Bank Observatory recently received funding from the National Science Foundation and other entities that will pay for new equipment and increase its annual use by researchers.
The National Science Foundation, along with National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Associated Universities Inc., provided $1,345,903 for the observatory in Pocahontas County. Employing 100 people year-round, along with an additional 40 staff during the summer, the Green Bank Observatory is the world’s largest steerable radio telescope. It is used by researchers from West Virginia University and others from around the country.
WVU Associate Professor of Astronomy D.J. Pisano said this funding comes as part of the NSF’s Mid Scale Instrumentation Program to improve telescope performance. He said the observatory’s 100-meter diameter collecting surface is made up of about 2,000 panels that can be positioned accurately, but they take a beating from the elements when operating at high frequency.
“The challenge is you effectively have this 100-meter sail, if you will, that’s shooting out there in the atmosphere getting buffeted by wind and sun,” he explained. “It gets heated up in the morning and cools off in the evening and all of that causes the surface to change shape. Just like any piece of metal, if you heat it up, it starts expanding ,and you leave things outside long enough, it gets warped. That’s happening in real time with the telescope.”
However, the new funding will support a laser-ranging measurement system. Pisano said this means the operators can spend more time conducting research rather than calibrating the telescope to compensate for changes in the dish.
“All of that is wonderful,” he said. “It’s basically a capital investment that is going to get them more time, about a thousand more hours a year effectively.”
Andrew Seymour, the observatory staff scientist behind the project, said the new equipment is a land surveyor measuring laser that can accurately monitor the surface of the dish. While similar technology has been employed on a small scale in proof-of-concept demonstrations, this will be the first time it will have been mounted on a large telescope. Since the project is only in its initial stages, he said it’ll be about three years before the new laser system is installed.
The Mountain State’s senators weighed in on the development.
“This award from the National Science Foundation recognizes the potential for discovery that is unique to the Green Bank Observatory,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. “In my visits there and in conversations with scientists, educators and students, it is clear that GBO has the opportunity to make significant contributions to science.”
The senator applauded the NSF for funding the observatory, adding that increasing such opportunities has been a goal for her as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“The Green Bank Observatory has provided a tremendous amount of research and data to the scientific community, and the whole Mountain State is proud of the Observatory’s contributions,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. “This funding from the National Science Foundation is critical to keeping the facility at the forefront of scientific research. I’m glad the Green Bank Observatory is receiving this important funding.”
Pisano said at the end of 2017, a draft environmental impact statement regarding the observatory recommended the NSF look for outside partners to operate the telescope and reduce its contribution to 30 percent. Nevertheless, he said instrumentation funding is still coming in and the observatory has proven its value.
“It’s not anyone’s official policy but when you’re tight on money, you’re always better off, I think, working to improve the things you have and get more out of them than tearing them down and building something else that’s going to cost $100 million or a billion dollars.”