The history of radio telescopes, 1945–1990

Forged by the development of radar during World War II, radio astronomy revolutionized astronomy during the decade after the war. A new universe was revealed, centered not on stars and planets, but on the gas between the stars, on explosive sources of unprecedented luminosity, and on hundreds of mysterious discrete sources with no optical identifications. Using “radio telescopes” that looked nothing like traditional (optical) telescopes, radio astronomers were a very different breed from traditional (optical) astronomers. This pathbreaking of radio astronomy also made it much easier for later “astronomies” and their “telescopes” (X-ray, ultraviolet, infrared, gamma-ray) to become integrated into astronomy after the launch of the space age in the 1960s. This paper traces the history of radio telescopes from 1945 through about 1990, from the era of converted small-sized, military radar antennas to that of large interferometric arrays connected by complex electronics and computers; from the era of strip-chart recordings measured by rulers to powerful computers and display graphics; from the era of individuals and small groups building their own equipment to that of Big Science, large collaborations and national observatories.     

Exotic UV astronomy

After considering a number of historical but somewhat “forgotten” UV astronomy experiments, I discuss a number of ways of non-conventional astronomy in the ultraviolet that, on first considerations, could be viable alternatives and valuable complements to classical space observations. These are (a) UV astronomy from the Antarctic or the Arctic regions that take advantage of the “ozone hole”, (b) the use of high-altitude stratospheric balloon-borne telescopes, and (c) the operation of UV telescopes on the Moon. The advantages of these options are discussed and evaluated against the costs of each option and, one by one, are mostly rejected as not fully justifying the specific alternative. The possibility to achieve valuable (but limited) UV science, such as imaging at ～2000 Å, using long-duration stratospheric balloons is described. The option of lunar UV observatories is retained to be implemented for the case of a UV interferometer, where the stability of the lunar regolith is seen as a significant advantage in comparison to free-flying interferometers. A location beyond the main asteroid belt, where the background due zodiacal light may be negligible, is advocated as an ideal location for a UV observatory in the Solar System.     

Megaregolith evolution and cratering cataclysm models—Lunar cataclysm as a misconception (28 years later)

Abstract— The hypothesis of a lunar cataclysmic cratering episode between 3.8 and 3.9 Gyr ago lacks proof. Its strongest form proposes no cratering before about 4.0 Gyr, followed by catastrophic formation of most lunar craters and basins in >200 Myr. The premise that “zero impact melts implies zero impacts” is disproved by data from asteroids, on which early collisions clearly occurred, but from which early impact melts are scarce. Plausible cataclysm models imply that any cataclysm should have affected the whole inner solar system, but among available lunar and asteroid impact melt and impact age resetting data, a narrow, strong 3.8–3.9 Gyr spike in ages is seen only in the region sampled by Apollo/Luna. Reported lunar meteorite data do not show the spike. Asteroid data show a broader, milder peak, spreading from about 4.2 to 3.5 Gyr. These data suggest either that the spike in Apollo impact melt ages is associated with unique lunar front side events, or that the lunar meteorites data represent different kinds of events than the Apollo/Luna data. Here, we develop an alternate “megaregolith evolution” hypothesis to explain these data. In this hypothesis, early impact melts are absent not because there were no impacts, but because the high rate of early impacts led to their pulverization. The model estimates survival halflives of most lunar impact melts prior to 4.1 Gyr at >100 Myr. After a certain time, T_critical ?4.0 Gyr, impact melts began to survive to the present. The age distribution differences among impact melts and plutonic rocks are controlled by, and hold clues to, the history of regolith evolution and the relative depths of sequestration of impact melts versus plutonic rocks, both among lunar and asteroidal samples. Both the “zero cratering, then cataclysm” hypothesis and the “megaregolith evolution” hypothesis require further testing, especially with lunar meteorite impact melt studies.     

Evolutionary approach to the missing mass problem of clusters of galaxies

In a gravitationally bound and stable cluster of galaxies the amount and distribution of matter determine both the velocity dispersion of the members and the type of evolution of the system. The use of the first of these physical connections — the application of virial theorem — led to the idea of missing mass in clusters, that of the second one seems to support this idea by an independent “rediscovery” and “redistribution” of missing mass. On the basis of this “evolutionary approach” to the missing mass problem — that is free from the uncertainties of measuring and interpreting red shifts — evidences are obtained for the existence of large amounts of discretely distributed dark circumgalactic or intragalactic matter in rich clusters of galaxies.     

Discovery and rediscovery of Trojan asteroids

During 1987–1994, observational campaigns with different telescopes at several observatories have been initiated by the author in order to discover new Trojans. The importance of Trojan asteroids comes from celestial mechanics, where they represent the physical solution of the famous Lagrange triangular problem. Their importance lies also in the fact, that they may have some relation with comets. Furthermore, the Trojan belt may be as large as the belt of asteroids. Moreover, recently “families” have been discovered between the already well known Trojans. Enough reasons to continue to search for these interesting objects.     

Statistical estimates of fundamental constraints on the use of commercial CCD cameras in TV guide systems of large optical telescopes

The parameters of TV guide cameras of the BTA and Zeiss-1000 telescopes are analyzed. The formation of optical images by the “atmosphere + telescope” system is analyzed with allowance for the laws of photoelectron statistics in order to justify the applicability of commercial CCD cameras in the guiding systems of large optical telescopes. The analysis focuses on the estimates of fundamental constraints imposed on the method of TV observations of the sky through a turbulent atmosphere. The possible ways of reducing the main constraining factors in the case of the use of highly sensitive commercially produced CCDs in TV guide cameras are outlined.     

The interferometric mode of the European Very Large Telescope

The European Very Large Telescope program has been approved in 1987. It aims to consists of an array of four 8 m telescopes, plus two additional 2 m class auxiliary telescopes, the latter being fully dedicated to optical (infrared and visible) interferometry, with possible combination of some and, in the long term, all large telescopes. We discuss the implementation of this program in the next ten years.Paper presented at the Symposium on the JNLT and Related Engineering Developments, Tokyo, November 29–December 2, 1988.     

Back to the future: science and technology directions for radio telescopes of the twenty-first century

The early days of radio astronomy showed incredibly diverse experimentation in ways to sample the electromagnetic spectrum at radio wavelengths. In addition to obtaining adequate sensitivity by building large collection areas, a primary goal also was to achieve sufficient angular resolution to localize radio sources for multi-wavelength identification. This led to many creative designs and the invention of aperture synthesis and VLBI. Some of the basic telescope types remain to the present day, now implemented across the entire radio spectrum from wavelengths of tens of meters to submillimeter wavelengths. In recent years, as always, there is still the drive for greater sensitivity but a primary goal is now to achieve very large fields of view to complement high resolution and frequency coverage, leading to a new phase of experimentation. This is the “back to the future” aspect of current research and development for next-generation radio telescopes. In this paper I summarize the scientific motivations for development of new technology and telescopes since about 1990 and going forward for the next decade and longer. Relevant elements include highly optimized telescope optics and feed antenna designs, innovative fabrication methods for large reflectors and dipole arrays, digital implementations, and hardware vs. software processing. The emphasis will be on meter and centimeter wavelength telescopes but I include a brief discussion of millimeter wavelengths to put the longer wavelength enterprises into perspective. I do not discuss submillimeter wavelengths because they are covered in other papers.     

RoboNet‐II: Follow‐up observations of microlensing events with a robotic network of telescopes

RoboNet‐II uses a global network of robotic telescopes to perform follow‐up observations of microlensing events in the Galactic Bulge. The current network consists of three 2 m telescopes located in Hawaii and Australia (owned by Las Cumbres Observatory) and the Canary Islands (owned by Liverpool John Moores University). In future years the network will be expanded by deploying clusters of 1 m telescopes in other suitable locations. A principal scientific aim of the RoboNet‐II project is the detection of cool extra‐solar planets by the method of gravitational microlensing. These detections will provide crucial constraints to models of planetary formation and orbital migration. RoboNet‐II acts in coordination with the PLANET microlensing follow‐up network and uses an optimization algorithm (“web‐PLOP”) to select the targets and a distributed scheduling paradigm (eSTAR) to execute the observations. Continuous automated assessment of the observations and anomaly detection is provided by the ARTEMiS system (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Intricacies of the fine structure of the eclipse corona

The inner white-light corona (up to 2 solar radii) can only be observed during total solar eclipses. New mathematical methods of the corona image processing and digital photo cameras or CCD cameras allow us to detect very faint structures (of a few arcseconds) in this part of the corona, even from images taken with relatively small telescopes (1–2 meters in the focal length). In the present paper we will discuss such structures as observed during the last few solar eclipses, mainly those of 2001 and 2006. Obtained results show that the white-light corona is highly structured not only in the sense of a variety of different types of its classical “objects”, e.g., polar plumes, helmet streamers, threadlike streamers, etc, but also within these objects themselves. Voids, loops, radial and non-radial threads, and other yet-undefined dark structures (“empty space”?) are well visible especially inside helmet streamers. This strongly indicates that the classical picture of the corona characterized by a hydrostatic distribution of density and temperature is no longer a sufficient assumption. It is magnetic forces that play a dominant role in shaping and structuring this part the corona. Given a remarkable similarity between the EUV corona as observed by SOHO and the white-light corona observed by us during the above-mentioned eclipses up to two solar radii. We suggest that the “missing” observations of the white-light corona should be replaced by those of the EUV one. Moreover, the last eclipse’s observations also indicate that the knots of some prominences extend well into the white-light corona. So, the next total eclipses of the Sun, of 1 August 2008 and 22 July 2009, offer an excellent opportunity for preparing joint observations for space-borne and ground-based eclipse teams.     

Robotic telescopes for high energy astrophysics in Ondřejov

We report on two small aperture robotic telescopes called BART and D50 operated in Ondřejov. Both telescopes are capable of automatic observation of gamma ray burst (GRB) optical afterglows. Coordinates of GRBs are taken from alerts distributed via Internet. Telescopes observe other interesting high energy sources when there is not any alert. The smaller telescope BART has aperture D = 254 mm. The bigger telescope D50 has a primary mirror of diameter D = 500 mm. Both telescopes are controlled by free software package RTS2 and are accessible through Internet. We describe the two telescopes and related software and show some results such as our first observed optical counterpart of GRB.     

J.E. Keeler's discovery of a gap in the outer part of the A ring

In early January 1888, James E. Keeler was one of the first astronomers to work with the very new Lick Observatory 36-in. refractor. On January 7 while observing Saturn visually on a night of very fine seeing, he discovered a narrow, dark “division” in the outer part of the A ring. Despite repeated attempts, neither Keeler nor any of the other Lick observers saw this gap again until over a year later, on March 2, 1889, another night of extremely good seeing. On that occasion not only Keeler, but also E. S. Holden, J. M. Schaeberle, and E. E. Barnard all observed “Mr. Keeler's division,” as Barnard called it. It could only be seen using very high magnification with this large telescope, at a site known to be excellent, on the nights of very best definition. This gap is not the same as the feature which J. F. Encke had earlier discovered and described as a low-contrast division nearly in the middle of the A ring, and had drawn as nearly the same width as Cassini's division. Later visual observations by B. Lyot and A. Dollfus, again on nights of fine seeing with large telescopes, showed that the Encke division is complex. To them, with the best resolution, it appeared as three wide minima of light, fuzzy, and of low contrast, with a narrow, well-marked minimum of light at its outer edge. The outer edge is just where Keeler placed his gap, although he did not see the low-contrast structure in the Encke division. The images, with much superior resolution obtained from the Pioneer and Voyager space probes, show that the Encke division is even more complex than Lyot and Dollfus realized, but confirm the narrow Keeler feature as a true gap in the outer part of the A ring.     

A concept for providing warning of earth impacts by small asteroids

The atmospheric detonation of a 17 m-asteroid above Chelyabinsk, Russia on 2013 February 15 shows that even small asteroids can cause extensive damage. Earth-based telescopes have found smaller harmless objects, such as 2008 TC3, a 4 m-asteroid that was discovered 20h before it exploded over northeastern Sudan (Jenniskens, 2009). 2008 TC3 remains the only asteroid discovered before it hit Earth because it approached Earth from the night side, where it was observed by large telescopes searching for near-Earth objects (NEO’s). The larger object that exploded over Chelyabinsk approached Earth from the day side, from too close to the Sun to be detected from Earth. A sizeable telescope in an orbit about the Sun-Earth L1 (SE-L1) libration point could find objects like the “Chelyabinsk” asteroid approaching approximately from the line of sight to the Sun about a day before Earth closest approach. Such a system would have the astrometric accuracy needed to determine the time and impact zone for a NEO on a collision course. This would give at least several hours, and usually 2–4 days, to take protective measures, rather than the approximately two-minute interval between the flash and shock wave arrival that occurred in Chelyabinsk. A perhaps even more important reason for providing warning of these events, even smaller harmless ones that explode high in the atmosphere with the force of an atomic bomb, is to prevent mistaking such an event for a nuclear attack that could trigger a devastating nuclear war. A concept using a space telescope similar to that needed for an SE-L1 monitoring satellite, is already conceived by the B612 Foundation, whose planned Sentinel Space Telescope could find nearly all 140 m and larger NEO’s, including those in orbits mostly inside the Earth’s orbit that are hard to find with Earth-based telescopes, from a Venus-like orbit (Lu, 2013). Few modifications would be needed to the Sentinel Space Telescope to operate in a SE-L1 orbit, 0.01 AU from Earth towards the Sun, to find most asteroids larger than about 5 meters that approach the Earth from the solar direction. The spacecraft would scan 165 square degrees of the sky around the Earth every hour, finding asteroids when they are brightest (small phase angle) as they approach Earth. We will undertake Monte Carlo studies to see what fraction of asteroids 5 m and larger approaching from the Sun might be found by such a mission, and how much warning time might typically be expected. Also, we will check the overall coverage for all Earth-approaching NEO’s, including ground-based observations and observations by the recently-launched NEOSSat, which may best fill any gaps in coverage between that provided by an SE-L1 telescope and ground-based surveys. Many of the objects as large as 50 m, like the one that created Meteor Crater in Arizona, will not be found by current NEO surveys, while they would usually be seen by this possible mission even if they approached from the direction of the Sun. We should give better warning for future “Bolts out of the blue.”     

Telescope and instrument robotization at Dome C

This article reviews the situation for robotization of telescopes and instruments at the Antarctic station Concordia on Dome C. A brain‐storming meeting was held in Tenerife in March 2007 from which this review emerged.We describe and summarize the challenges for night‐time operations of various astronomical experiments at conditions “between Earth and Space” and conclude that robotization is likely a prerequisite for continuous astronomical data taking during the 2000‐hour night at Dome C. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Investigation of a bright flying object over northwest Spain, 1994 January 18

Abstract— On the early morning of 1994 January 18, a very bright luminous object crossed the sky of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. From visual sightings, it is concluded that the object wasn't a meteoric fireball (bolide). A surface “crater” in Cando (close to Santiago) with dimensions 29 × 13 m and 1.5 m deep was later discovered within 1 km of the projected “impact” point of the luminous object. At this site, in addition to the topsoil, full-grown pine trees >20 m high were thrown downhill over a nearby road, leaving the down-slope edge of the “crater” untouched and with a steep interior wall (this would not be the case if a regular landslide were responsible for the transport). Standing trees below the “crater” showed embedded soil and plant residues up to heights >3 m. No strange materials (meteorites or artifacts) were recovered in or close to the “crater”; all materials belonged to the site and were not shocked; thus, an impact is very improbable. A possible explanation capable of reconciling all of the observations is presented. It hypothesizes an eruption of earth gases to create the crater, with the rising gas plume then interacting with atmospheric electricity to produce the propagating fireball that was observed.     

Constraints on the formation of layered tektites from the excavation and analysis of layered tektites from northeast Thailand

Abstract— The size, shape, composition, and vesicle content of 6 kg of layered tektite fragments, excavated near the town of Huai Sai, Thailand, place some constraints on the formation of layered tektites. The mass, shape, and distribution of the fragments are not consistent with an origin as a “puddle” of impact melt but suggest that they were derived from a single equant block. The presence of vesicles up to 7 mm in mean diameter within the tektite fragments suggests that the material was too viscous to allow for significant gravity-driven flow. These results suggest that layered tektites may be analogous to lava bombs, which may have been stretched and deformed in flight but underwent little flow after landing. Rather than being a product of “unusual circumstances,” such as multiple impacts, layered tektites may differ from splash-form tektites only in initial temperature of formation, speed of ejection, and small differences in initial composition.     

The beginnings, from Lipperhey to Huygens and Cassini

The first century of telescopic astronomy can be divided into two periods. During the first, from 1609 to ca. 1640, observations were made with a simple “Dutch” or “Galilean” telescope with a concave eyepiece. Galileo made all his discoveries with this instrument. Its limited field of view, however, made magnifications of more than about 20 impractical, and therefore this instrument’s limit had been reached within a few years. During the second period, ca. 1640–ca. 1700, the simple astronomical telescope came into use, almost immediately augmented with a field lens and an erector lens (the latter used only for terrestrial purposes). Magnifications were increased by increasing the focal lengths of objectives, and this quickly led to very long telescopes, often used without a tube. The astronomical discoveries made possible by this form of the instrument were, however, made with instruments of relatively modest lengths. By the end of the century, very long telescopes fell out of use, while shorter ones were adapted for measurements. Further discoveries became possible only with the reflecting telescope in the second half of the eighteenth century.     

Exploratory experiments of impact craters formed in viscous-liquid targets: Analogs for Martian rampart craters?

Exploratory experimental impact studies have been performed using “soupy” mud as a target material. Although differing in details, the results appear to support the hypothesis that ejecta deposits around a class of Martian craters recently revealed in high-resolution Viking Orbiter images were emplaced as a flow of fluidized materials.     

Interpretation of no radio pulsar inside supernova 1987A: The high plasma cut-off frequency by the remnant media

Three decades have passed since the supernova SN 1987A was observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud, inside which the product is most likely a neutron star (NS) formed in the core collapse explosion.Although lots of observations with sensitive radio telescopes have taken place, astronomers have not yet detected any evidence for a radio pulsar around the remnant of 1987A. To investigate pulsars inside the SN remnants, we calculate the cut-off oscillation frequency of the plasma around the presumed NS inside SN1987A, as shown to be about 33 GHz at present (2018 CE), which is much higher than the favorite “searching window” (e.g. L-band ∼ 1.4 GHz) of radio pulsar surveys that have been commonly exploited by astronomers. Since radio waves with frequencies lower than the plasma cut-off frequency cannot penetrate the SN remnant media, we suggest that astronomers use higher frequency bands to search for a pulsar in SN 1987A.Furthermore, with the expansion of SN remnant media, we find that the plasma cut-off frequency can decay to the L-band (1.4 GHz) in the future. The strategy of finding a pulsar of SN 1987A is that either the high frequency bands of radio telescopes, or the high energy detections at Gamma-ray and X-ray bands by space satellites are applied.