radio telescope

radio telescope

noun

Definition of RADIO TELESCOPE

: a radio receiver-antenna combination used for observation in radio astronomy

First Known Use of RADIO TELESCOPE

1929

radio telescope

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Lovell Telescope, a fully steerable radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, Macclesfield, Cheshire, Eng.—Jodrell Bank Science Centre

Combination of radio receiver and antenna, used for observation in radio and radar astronomy. Radio telescopes vary widely, but all have two basic components: a large radio antenna or an antenna array and a radiometer or radio receiver. Because some astronomical radio sources are extremely weak, radio telescopes are usually very large, and only the most sensitive radio receivers are used. The first large fully steerable radio telescope was completed in 1957 at Jodrell Bank, Eng. The world's largest fully steerable radio telescope is the 360 330-ft (110 100-m) off-axis antenna operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, W.Va. The largest single radio telescope is the 1,000-ft (305-m) fixed spherical reflector at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The world's most powerful radio telescope is the Very Large Array in New Mexico, made up of 27 separate mobile parabolic antennas that together provide the angular resolution of a single antenna 22 mi (35 km) in diameter.