Are There Non-Photonic 'Telescopes' for Studying Astrophysical Objects?

[Nereid]

Being a light-hearted discussion!

There are the neutrino telescopes, of which AMANDA is my favourite (though only Super-K has detected (imaged is too strong a term) any astronomical object ... yet).

There are the gravitational wave detectors, of which LIGO gets all the attention; no detections of anything astrophysical ... yet. Of those planned, I think http://lisa.jpl.nasa.gov/ is the most exciting.

While not exactly a 'telescope', the Pierre Auger Observatory might 'see' a point source before tooo long.

AFAIK, the only other 'cosmic ray telescope' that might detect point sources is http://www.lofar.org/p/geninfo.htm , but it's very early days for that.

Did I miss any?

 

[hellfire]

As far as I know LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) is a radio telescope. And I think the Pierre Auger does basically detect photons from Cerenkov radiation (I may be wrong).

 

[SpaceTiger]

One might consider including dust-collectors (like http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/") and rovers. There are also many dark matter detectors being deployed, which could theoretically detect a variety of non-photonic objects.

 

[Chronos]

While not un-photonic, low frequency surveys [like LOFAR as hellfire mentioned] will map the universe to great depths and resolve many current issues. But, like Nereid, I can't wait for a neutrino telescopes to go online.

 

[Nereid]

As far as I know LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) is a radio telescope. And I think the Pierre Auger does basically detect photons from Cerenkov radiation (I may be wrong).

LOFAR is indeed a detector of radio photons.

However, it should also be an extraordinarily http://www.lofar.org/p/ast_sc_cosmicrays.htm ! To quote: "The primary observable is the intense radio pulse that is produced when a primary CR hits the atmosphere and produces an Extensive Air Shower (EAS). An EAS is aligned along the direction of motion of the primary particle, and a substantial part of its component consists of electron-positron pairs which emit radio emission in the terrestrial magnetosphere (e.g., geo-synchrotron emission).[/color]"

Pierre Auger is "... a "hybrid detector," employing two independent methods to detect and study high-energy cosmic rays. One technique is ground-based and detects high energy particles through their interaction with water. The other technique tracks the development of air showers by observing ultraviolet light emitted high in the Earth's atmosphere.[/color]"

There are several (imaging) air cherenkov telescopes (e.g. http://magic.mppmu.mpg.de/index.en.html , H.E.S.S., Cangaroo), but they are photon detectors (hundreds of GeV to TeV gammas).

I thought about dust collectors, and also those folk who tirelessly analyse meteors trajectories, looking for interstellar visitors among the locals http://aquarid.physics.uwo.ca/meteoroids2004/program.html , see Session 10); I guess they are a kind of telescope.

I guess that, in principle, at least some of the DM detectors might provide direction information. Anyway, as ST says, there are several, an initial list:
http://cdms.berkeley.edu/
http://hepwww.rl.ac.uk/ukdmc/project/project.html (at least four different types of detector!)
http://www.mpi-hd.mpg.de/non_acc/dm.html
http://www.astro.columbia.edu/~lxe/XENON/
http://www.oxford-instruments.com/SCNRMP33.htm

Whew, more than I expected to find!

 

[Danger]

I built a sonic telescope a while back. Haven't managed to pick up anything extraterrestrial yet.

 

[Garth]

I built a sonic telescope a while back. Haven't managed to pick up anything extraterrestrial yet.

Not even Message in the Sky ?

I'm disappointed.

Garth

 

[Danger]

What a hoot!

I'll have to get bigger headphones for my 'scope and try again.

 

[turbo]

What a hoot!
I'll have to get bigger headphones for my 'scope and try again.

Let me know your observing schedule, and I'll try to keep my guitar amp turned down during those periods. I hate light pollution, but I never considered that someone might be observing in the audio frequencies.

Anybody here building an olefactory telescope?

 

[Danger]

Thanks, Turbo. I wish more people were that considerate.

My cousin did indeed attempt observing with a smelloscope a few years ago. Unfortunately, when he got his first serious sniff of vacuum he expired.

 

[turbo]

My cousin did indeed attempt observing with a smelloscope a few years ago. Unfortunately, when he got his first serious sniff of vacuum he expired.

I am devastated! The olefactory properties of the vacuum could not possibly have led to your cousin's demise, but my old hiking boots... How can I live with myself?

 

[Danger]

Well... if he was spying on you hiking instead of doing what he was supposed to be, he got what he deserved.