astronomy

Reber Radio Telescope

Reber Radio 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 Reber Radio Telescope rather than just read about it. In short: The Reber Radio Telescope is a historic radio telescope, located at the Green Bank Observatory near Green Bank, West Virginia, United States. Built in 1937 in Illinois by the astronomer Grote Reber, it was the first purpose-built parabolic radio telescope.

Key takeaways

Reber Radio 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 Reber Radio Telescope to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Reber Radio Telescope from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Reber Radio Telescope is a historic radio telescope, located at the Green Bank Observatory near Green Bank, West Virginia, United States. Built in 1937 in Illinois by the astronomer Grote Reber, it was the first purpose-built parabolic radio telescope. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

Description and history The Reber Radio Telescope is located on the grounds of the Green Bank Observatory (formerly part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory) in rural Pocahontas County, West Virginia. It consists of a parabolic reflector composed of 72 radial rafters and covered in 26 gauge iron sheeting with a focal length of 20 feet (6.1 m). It is 31 feet 5 inches (9.58 m) in diameter and is mounted on arched rails positioned on railroad wheels, allowing its angle of elevation to be controlled. The telescope was built by Reber in his back yard in Wheaton, Illinois, in 1937, following up on the research of Karl Jansky, the discoverer in 1933 of radio waves emanating from the Milky Way. It was the second radio telescope ever built (after Jansky's dipole array), and the first parabolic radio telescope, serving as a prototype for the first large dish radio telescopes such as the Green Bank Telescope and Lovell Telescope constructed after World War II. Reber was the world's only radio astronomer at the time and his construction of the telescope, and the sky surveys he did with it, helped to found the field of radio astronomy, revealing radio sources such as Cassiopeia A and Cygnus X-1 for the first time. Reber sold the telescope to the US National Bureau of Standards and it was moved to Sterling, Virginia. It later became the property of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and was moved to Boulder, Colorado, before being moved to the Green Bank facility. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Pocahontas County, West Virginia List of National Historic Landmarks in West Virginia

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Reber Radio Telescope

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Reber Radio 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 Reber Radio 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 Reber Radio 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 Reber Radio Telescope

In research: Reber Radio 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 Reber Radio 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: Reber Radio Telescope is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical observatories in West Virginia, Buildings and structures in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, National Historic Landmarks in West Virginia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Reber Radio 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 Reber Radio Telescope in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Reber Radio Telescope in simple terms?

Why does Reber Radio 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 Reber Radio 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 Reber Radio Telescope.