Arecibo Finds a Binary Pulsar that is only 112 Thousand Year Old
Astronomers using a new state-of-the-art receiver system on the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico have discovered a new binary pulsar system which promises to be an important test bed for Einstein's theory of General Relativity. What makes this different from other binary pulsars is the relative youthfulness of the pulsar -- only about 112 thousand years old.
Comments:
I am about to show my ignorance here....<br><br>How is this telescope aimed? How does it move to or track a target? It seems plain to me that the main dish does not move, so....?<br><br>Humbly,<br>John
John:<br><br>That is actually a very good question, because it is not obvious just by looking at Arecibo to figure out how it works.<br><br>You are right in observing that the main dish does not move. What does move, however, is the receiver that is dangling from cables above the dish. The radio signals are focused on the receiver and the receiver can be moved for aiming at a radio source and for tracking to compensate for the Earth's rotation.<br><br>Since the dish is fixed, the primary method if aiming at targets is accomplished by the rotation of the Earth. You can only point to something if it is pretty much right above you. But still, Arecibo is a great engineering feat.<br><br>For more info on Arecibo, check out:<br><br>http://www.naic.edu/<br><br>http://egg.astro.cornell.edu/index.php/<br><br>Hope this helps,<br><br>Guy<br><br><br>----------------------------------<br>John Powers said:<br><br>I am about to show my ignorance here....<br><br>How is this telescope aimed? How does it move to or track a target? It seems plain to me that the main dish does not move, so....?<br><br>Humbly,<br>John
Funding Member
