Telescopes and Observatories

Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) Telescopes

Located near Penticton, B.C., the DRAO operates a seven-antenna radio telescope that is mapping large parts of the plane of the Milky Way galaxy to study how the interstellar gas changes from stellar birth to stellar death.

A 26-m diameter radio telescope is used alone (for example, to study pulsars), or is often used in conjunction with the seven-antenna telescope to provide more complete maps of the Milky Way.

A small radio telescope maintains daily records (dating back to 1946) of radio radiation from the Sun. These data are used worldwide for studying solar-terrestrial relationships such as long term climate change or predicting disturbances of power and communications caused by storms on the Sun.