Allen Telescope Array facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Allen Telescope Array(ATA) |
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 The Allen Telescope Array (ATA-42), October 11, 2007
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| Organization | SETI Institute & Radio Astronomy Laboratory |
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| Location | Hat Creek Radio Observatory |
| Website | https://www.seti.org/ata |
The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) is a special kind of telescope. It was built by the SETI Institute and the Radio Astronomy Laboratory (RAL) at the University of California, Berkeley. Its main jobs are to study space using radio waves (this is called radio astronomy) and to look for signs of life beyond Earth.
This amazing telescope is named after Paul Allen, who helped start Microsoft. Before it got its current name, it was known as the One Hectare Telescope (1hT).
Contents
Where is the ATA Located?
The ATA is found at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory. This place is about 290 miles (470 km) northeast of San Francisco, California. It's a quiet spot, perfect for listening to signals from space.
How the ATA Works
The ATA is designed to have many antennas working together. The plan is to have 350 antennas in total. This allows them to collect a lot of information from space.
Starting Small: ATA-42
To begin, 42 antennas were set up. This first group was called ATA-42. They started working on October 11, 2007. However, there wasn't enough money to keep them going, so operations stopped in April 2011.
Getting Back on Track
Luckily, in August 2011, the ATA received some short-term money. This allowed the telescope to start working again. In August 2014, a forest fire in the area caused a brief shutdown. But the ATA was mostly safe from the fire.
Current Operations
As of 2016, the SETI Institute uses the ATA every day. They perform observations between 6 pm and 6 am. This means they are busy listening to the universe all night long.
Future Goals of the ATA
The Allen Telescope Array aims to be one of the biggest and fastest telescopes in the world. When it's fully built, it will let astronomers study many different stars at the same time. This will help us learn even more about our universe and possibly find answers to big questions about life beyond Earth.
Images for kids
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The ATA Offset Gregorian Design
See also
In Spanish: Allen Telescope Array para niños
