astronomy

OVRO 40 meter Telescope

OVRO 40 meter Telescope 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 OVRO 40 meter Telescope rather than just read about it. In short: The OVRO 40 meter Telescope is a radio telescope at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory near Big Pine, California, US. It is owned and operated by Caltech.

Key takeaways

OVRO 40 meter Telescope belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect OVRO 40 meter Telescope to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of OVRO 40 meter Telescope from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The OVRO 40 meter Telescope is a radio telescope at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory near Big Pine, California, US. It is owned and operated by Caltech. The telescope is easily visible from the section of US highway 395 just north of Big Pine.

History Construction of the telescope was funded by the National Science Foundation, as a prototype for a planned astronomical interferometer at Owens Valley. The interferometer was to incorporate eight dishes moving on rails, positioned up to 5 miles (8.0 km) apart. The 40-metre (130 ft) diameter prototype was completed in 1968, but by the end of the decade plans for the interferometer were cancelled in favour of the Very Large Array. The newly-constructed prototype was instead combined with existing telescopes at Owens Valley to form a smaller interferometer, with maximum baseline of 0.75 miles (1.21 km). Starting in 1969, it was also sometimes used as a very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) station, in conjunction with more distant observatories. When operating with the Parkes telescope in Australia it provided the longest baseline then available in the world, and hence the highest angular resolution of 0.4 milliarcseconds. VLBI operations continued until 1991, when they were retired in favour of the more capable Very Long Baseline Array.

Current use In 2007 the telescope was re-purposed for a dedicated blazar monitoring campaign, in support of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope which launched in 2008 and observes blazars in gamma rays. As of 2018 the telescope takes regular measurements of over 1800 blazars, by observing each one at 15 gigahertz (2.0 cm) twice a week.

In popular culture Much of the 1996 film The Arrival was filmed at Owens Valley Radio Observatory, and the climactic fight scene occurred in, and on the primary mirror of, the 40 meter telescope.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with OVRO 40 meter Telescope

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what OVRO 40 meter Telescope 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 OVRO 40 meter Telescope 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 OVRO 40 meter Telescope 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 OVRO 40 meter Telescope

In research: OVRO 40 meter Telescope 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 OVRO 40 meter Telescope 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: OVRO 40 meter Telescope is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical observatories in California, Buildings and structures in Inyo County, California, Radio telescopes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for OVRO 40 meter Telescope 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.

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How to study OVRO 40 meter Telescope in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what OVRO 40 meter Telescope 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 OVRO 40 meter Telescope out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is OVRO 40 meter Telescope in simple terms?

The OVRO 40 meter Telescope is a radio telescope at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory near Big Pine, California, US. It is owned and operated by Caltech.

Why does OVRO 40 meter Telescope 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 OVRO 40 meter Telescope?

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 OVRO 40 meter Telescope.