astronomy

Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory

Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory rather than just read about it. In short: The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) is a radio astronomy observatory, located in a natural bowl of hills at Hartebeesthoek just south of the Magaliesberg mountain range, and about 50 km west of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It is a National Research Facility run by South Africa's National Research Foundation.

Key takeaways

Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) is a radio astronomy observatory, located in a natural bowl of hills at Hartebeesthoek just south of the Magaliesberg mountain range, and about 50 km west of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It is a National Research Facility run by South Africa's National Research Foundation. HartRAO was the only major radio astronomy observatory in Africa until the construction of the KAT-7 test bed for the future MeerKAT array in the Meerkat National Park.

History

The observatory was originally named Deep Space Station 51 (DSS 51) and was built in 1961 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In this role the station assisted in tracking many unmanned United States space missions, including the Ranger, Surveyor and Lunar Orbiter spacecraft (which landed on the Moon or mapped it from orbit), the Mariner missions (which explored the planets Venus and Mars) and the Pioneer missions (which measured the Sun's winds). The first Mars surface images from Mariner 4 were received at DSS 51. NASA withdrew from the station in 1975, handing it over to South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), who converted it to a radio astronomy observatory. In 1988 the observatory became a National Facility operated by the Foundation for Research Development (FRD); in 1999 the FRD was restructured as the National Research Foundation (NRF). As of 2011, NASA continues to contract for launch tracking services on an as-needed basis, and did so for the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory on 26 November 2011.

The Radio Telescope The observatory is equipped with a single 260 ton radio telescope with a main reflecting surface diameter of 26 metres. The telescope is equipped with radio receivers operating in the microwave band at wavelengths of 18 cm, 13 cm, 6 cm, 4.5 cm, 3.5 cm, 2.5 cm and 1.3 cm.

Research HartRAO is used for continuum radiometry, spectroscopy, pulsar timing and interferometry. It works together with radio telescopes in other continents as well as the orbiting radio telescopes HALCA (VSOP project) and Spektr-R (RadioAstron) in order to perform Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations. HartRAO is an associate member of the European VLBI Network, but also operates with the Australia Telescope Long Baseline Array, the Asia-Pacific Telescope, the United States Very Long Baseline Array and the Global Array. HartRAO also runs a Space Geodesy programme using VLBI, Satellite laser ranging and the Global Positioning System. Development work of a Lunar Laser Ranger (LLR) has commenced, based on a 1 m optical telescope. The LLR system will use a 100 mJ, 20 Hz, 80 ps pulse length laser to range to corner cube reflector arrays on the Moon. The observatory also provides students and lecturers from South African universities the facilities and opportunities to perform research.

Involvement with the Karoo Array Telescope Project The XDM, a prototype dish for the MeerKAT radio telescope, was constructed at HartRAO. The XDM dish design was first used in KAT-7, a seven-dish engineering testbed and science instrument in the Meerkat National Park in Carnarvon, Northern Cape. KAT-7, completed in 2012, marked the first stage of MeerKAT development.

Gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory

In research: Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical observatories in South Africa, Radio telescopes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory in simple terms?

Why does Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory.