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Events - DRAO Open House 2010 - Celebrating 50 Years of Radio Astronomy in the White Lake Basin
Date: 2010/09/25 - 2010/09/25
Time: 10:00
to 17:00
Language: Bilingual
Venue:
NRC Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory
717 White Lake Road
Kaleden, BC
- Highlights of DRAO
- NRC-DRAO Open House 2010
- Schedule of activities
- Directions and Map to NRC-DRAO
- Printable Poster (PDF version, 2 370 KB)
The NRC Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (NRC-DRAO) presents Open House 2010 — Celebrating 50 Years of Radio Astronomy in the White Lake Basin.
We are 50 years old this year, and we are inviting everyone to come and join the celebration! NRC-DRAO was officially opened in 1960, after a nationwide search for the best radio astronomy site in Canada. From very-low-frequency all-sky surveys made in the 1960s at 10 and 22 MHz — unsurpassed to this day — to the majestic Canadian Galactic Plane Survey, completed in 2009, NRC-DRAO astronomers have exploited the White Lake Basin's superb radio-quiet environment to push back the frontiers of science.
NRC-DRAO has also long been at the forefront of technology development in radio astronomy. From pioneering 1967 experiments in Very-Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) — a technique now in widespread use worldwide — to the design and construction of cutting-edge digital signal-processing hardware now being delivered to telescopes in the USA and the UK, NRC-DRAO's engineers have made major contributions to projects in Canada and around the globe.
Today astronomers and engineers at NRC-DRAO collaborate with international colleagues in developing techniques and instruments for the next generation of radio telescopes that will address key questions about the nature of the Universe, from the physics of gravity to understanding the origins of life. Around the NRC-DRAO site you will see progress on innovative projects such as low-cost, high-performance antenna fabrication, wide-field "radio cameras", low-noise electronics, and high-speed digital signal processing hardware.
Gates open to the public at 10:00 am and close at 5:00 pm.
Everyone is welcome! Admission is free!
DRAO 26-metre telescope under construction, 1959
DRAO synthesis telescope under construction, 1972
