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Gold Barz
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Is it true that it can eavesdrop the entire galaxy?, like it has the ability to scan the whole galaxy?
Extremely. Keep in mind that several factors determine this. One is the size of the antenna array, another is the amplification and filtering system, and another is the processing power available for presenting the data in a useable format. An antenna the size of the Earth would be useless if you couldn't extract information from it, and the most powerful amplifier on the planet wouldn't do much good hooked up to a Bell ExpressVu satellite dish.Gold Barz said:So...I don't know anything about this stuff, is that "powerful"?
The power of a telescope is usually defined as a function of its resolving power. With very clean amplification, accurate data-handling and a long baseline, small radio telescopes can be combined to trump Aricibo. As a single telescope, Aricebo is a monster, but it cannot probe shorter wavelengths with the resolution of a long-baseline collaboration pair.Phobos said:It's a very powerful radio telescope*...which makes it great for SETI's purposes (and many other astronomy purposes)...but like any other telescope it's resolution decreases with distance.
* The most powerful currently available? Someone remind me.
It's unique in doing it all from one location. Multiple receiving dishes spread over a very wide area act like one huge one for radio detection. You just have to keep the data synchronized to give a coherent picture.Gold Barz said:So the arecibo is not really a unique radio telescope with what it could do?
In a way, Aricibo is 'steerable' in that it sweeps the sky at Earth's rotation rate. This thing that you linked to is pretty impressive, I must say, although I only scanned the first page of the site (my time is very limited, but I'll check it out in more depth later).Chronos said:This is, IMO, what you really need to do a bang up job:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/greenbank_observatory_000826.html
The Arecibo Radio Telescope is a large parabolic dish located in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It is used for radio astronomy, atmospheric science, and radar astronomy research.
The Arecibo Radio Telescope has a diameter of 305 meters (1,000 feet) and is the largest single-aperture telescope in the world. It covers an area of about 18.3 acres.
The Arecibo Radio Telescope is primarily used for radio astronomy, which involves studying radio waves emitted by celestial objects in order to understand their properties and behavior. It is also used for atmospheric science, such as studying the Earth's ionosphere, and for radar astronomy to study planets and asteroids.
The Arecibo Radio Telescope works by collecting radio waves from space and focusing them onto a receiver at the focus of the parabolic dish. The receiver then amplifies the signals and sends them to a computer for analysis. The telescope can also transmit radio waves for radar astronomy and communication purposes.
The Arecibo Radio Telescope has made numerous significant discoveries, including detecting the first binary pulsar, mapping the surfaces of Venus and Mercury, and discovering the first exoplanets. It has also been used to search for extraterrestrial intelligence and has sent messages into outer space to potentially be received by other civilizations.