The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory is a

research Research is "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 attentiveness ...

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 e ...

, 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 o ...

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 ...

monitor, and the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) — as well as support

engineering Engineering is the use of 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 range of more speciali ...

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: physi ...

. The DRAO is operated by the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics 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-i ...

. 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. T ...

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 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 and ...

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 ...

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. T ...

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 (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 fr ...

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
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 ...

, 2017-09-07Canadian ingenuity crafts game-changing technology for CHIME telescope
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 twent ...

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 lar ...

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