The Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) was a six-antenna
interferometer
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 ...
on the
Pic de Bure
Pic de Bure is a prominent mountain of the Dauphiné Alps in France, culminating at a height of , the third highest peak of the Dévoluy Mountains. The Plateau de Bure Interferometer
The Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) was a six-antenna i ...
(2550 m) in the
French Alps
The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...
, operated by the
Institut de radioastronomie millimétrique. In 2014, it has been replaced by the
Northern Extended Millimeter Array. It was specifically designed for millimetre-wave observations and specialises in studies of line emission from molecular gas and radio continuum of cold dust.
The interferometer consisted of six antennas with a diameter of 15 m each. These antennas could be placed in a T-shaped pattern, with north–south track of 368 m and an east–west track of 768 m. There were 32 stations along these tracks where the antennas can be positioned. Observing bands are at 3, 2, 1.8 and 0.8 mm.
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At an observing wavelength of 3 mm (100 GHz frequency) each of these telescopes could resolve two objects 45
arcsecond
A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...
s apart from each other on the sky. In an interferometer, these 45″ are actually the size of the field of view. So an interferometer like this one images, at very high resolution (better than 1″), structures smaller than 45″.
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Aerial tramway
The observatory was serviced by an
aerial tramway
An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...
.
1999 accident
On 1 July 1999, an aerial tramway car fell to the valley floor. All 20 occupants were killed, in one of the worst cable car accidents in recorded history. The majority were employees and contractors of the observatory.
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See also
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List of radio telescopes
This is a list of radio telescopes – over one hundred – that are or have been used for radio astronomy. The list includes both single dishes and interferometric arrays. The list is sorted by region, then by name; unnamed telescopes are in r ...
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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 ...
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CARMA another millimetre-wave array operated by a consortium including Caltech, University of California Berkeley, University of Illinois, University of Maryland and University of Chicago.
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Atacama Large Millimeter Array
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of 66 radio telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which observe electromagnetic radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. Th ...
, a large (sub)millimetre-wave array.
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Northern Extended Millimeter Array
References
{{Portal bar, France, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science
Radio telescopes
Interferometric telescopes
Hautes-Alpes
Astronomical observatories in France