the observ er - nrao.edu · national radio astronomy observatory, p. 0. box 2, ... plates than was...

THE OBSERV ERAUG :7 5

THE 25-METER TELESCOPEstory on page 3

- Brown CassellGene CristTony MianoRon Monk

- Bruce BalickChuck BrockwayBill delGiudiceM. A. GordonDick HinerDon HovatterJennifer HowardDoris HungerbuhlerSarah MartinMonroe PettyJon SpargoMary Ann StarrBarry TurnerJeff Waldhuter

Photography and Printin:

Contributorsto this Issue:

August 1975 Vol. 16, No. 4

Editor: - Wally Oref

Assistant Editor: - Bev Workman

Assistant to - Berdeen O'Brienthe Editor:

Editorial Board: - Ed Fomalont

Consultant: - Bill Howard

Typists: - Sue SeldomridgeBev Workman

The OBSERVER is a bimonthly publication of theNational Radio Astronomy Observatory, P. 0.Box 2, Green Bank, W. Va. 24944.

A special thanks to the people who contributedarticles and who helped with the assembly anddistribution of the OBSERVER.

NOTE: Most of the credit for articles in thisissue must go to Ed Fomalont. Ed did most ofthe leg work and contacting while I was vaca-tioning in the majestic Allegheny Mountains.

Wally Oref

Vol. 16, No. 4 August 1975 Page

THE 25-METER TELESCOPEFOR MILLIMETER WAVELENGTHS

Barry Turner

Budget crunch or not, the NRAO has de-cided that it is time to plan its next ma-jor instrument, to follow the VLA. Just asthe VLA provides a greatly increased capa-bility for centimeter-wave radio astronomy,our new proposed instrument, a 25-meter (82-ft.) dish operating to 1 mm wavelength orshorter, will enormously expand mm-wave as-tronomy. The largest existing mm-wave tele-scope, the NRAO 36-ft. dish, has opened upnew areas of radio astronomy in the past sixyears, by largely establishing the field ofinterstellar molecules and using it as anunprecedented tool for the study of the cool,dense regions of the interstellar medium. Atotally new insight into interstellar chem-istry, and the processes of star formation,has emerged. Yet despite improvements inmm-wave receivers by factors of over 10 inthe past six years, the limitations of the36-ft. telescope, both in size and in wave-length capability, are beginning to impedeour ability to follow up the existing a-chievements at millimeter wavelengths, andto make new breakthroughs. The lack of dishsize seriously restricts the 36-ft. resol-ving power, and hence the ability to studythe fine structures we know exist in mole-cular clouds. The small size also limitssharply the sensitivity of the 36-ft. tele-scope for most continuum sources. And thelimited surface accuracy (0.35 mm rms) re-stricts the telescope pretty well to 2 mmwavelength and longer.

A new mm-wave telescope is thereforeneeded that is both larger and more accuratethan the 36-ft. instrument. Several tech-nological improvements have become possiblesince the 36-ft. was built (in 1965), themost important being the idea of homologous structure by S. von Hoerner. A telescopedish is ideally parabolic in shape, but whentilted under the force of gravity the sur-face of most telescopes deviate from para-bolic and the rays are no longer focusedperfectly. Hence the telescope efficiencyis reduced and so is the limiting wavelength.A homologous structure is one which alwaysdeforms into some parabola, no matter whatthe tilt angle is. The parabola differs for

each tilt angle, but that only means the focuschanges, and this is easily calibrated and setfor any elevation angle. Von Hoerner was ableto derive structures theoritically that wouldbehave in this way, and such a structure wasused in the design of the NRAO 65-meter tele-scope. This telescope, was designed to operateto 3 mm wavelength. The homology principle isalso used successfully in the Bonn 100-metertelescope that operates to 1 cm wavelength. Ahomologous structure permits a much larger di-ameter, for a given surface accuracy, than anon-homologous structure. In addition, modernmethods of machining now allow considerablygreater accuracy in the fabrication of surfaceplates than was possible 10 years ago.

In April of 1974 we began the task of de-fining the next major mm-wave telescope forNRAO. The three principle questions we had toanswer were: a) what telescope? b) what, ifanything, do we put it in? 3) where do we putit?

The answer to the first question was gui-ded by the present scientific needs by the re-lationship between achievable diameter andwavelength capability for homology designs, andthe transmission properties of the earth's at-mosphere for mm waves. The atmosphere getsmore and more opaque to radio waves the shorterthey get. Basically there are three main "win-dows" of fairly good transmission in the mm-wave region. One extends from about 80 to 116GHz (the 3 mm window) and is closed at bothends by absorption from oxygen. Another isfrom 135 to 170 GHz (the 2 mm window). Thethird goes from about 210 to 300 GHz (the 1 mmwindow) and is closed at both ends by absorp-tion from water vapor. The 1 mm window is notvery good above 250 GHz, and requires a siteof exceptionally low water vapor (a high moun-tain site) to be very useful. There are actu-ally semi-windows at even frequencies. A nar-row one is centered at 340 GHz (0.88 mm) butwill transmit probably not better than 75% atthe zenith even on the best high mountain siteunder ideal weather conditions.

These atmospheric windows define thechoices we had in selecting our new telescope.Any telescope operates with reasonable effi-ciency (i.e. at least 50%) as long as the rmssurface accuracy is smaller than about 1/16 ofthe operating wavelength. (Of course astrono-mers are always demanding to use telescopes be-yond this limit.) So the shorter the desired

(continued--next page)


wavelength, the more accurate the surfacemust be, and the smaller the dish size wecan build in order to achieve that accuracy.If we wanted to operate only to 3 mm wave-length, our homology design would allow adish diameter of 65 meters. To get intothe 2 mm atmospheric window, the telescopecould be as large as 40 meters. To reachthe 1 mm window, 25 meters is the limitingsize. If we wanted to go all the way tothe 0.88 mm window with an efficient tele-scope, it could not exceed about 14 metersin diameter.

So far, so good; these choices are dic-tated by laws of nature that not even as-tronomers can argue about. But you can betthey argued (and still are) when it came todeciding among these possibilities. Itwasn't only the science they argue about,but the added consideration of the site.Telescopes operating to 2 mm wavelength andlonger don't particularly need a "good" site--that is, an exceptionally dry one. Buttelescopes meant to be used at 1 mm wave-length and shorter must be at very dry sites.Even the Sahara desert isn't good enough forthis purpose. One must go to a high moun-tain where you literally get above much ofthe atmospheric water vapor. Such sites areobviously expensive and logistically diffi-cult.

Even scientifically, it wasn't veryclear which telescope was best. The biggertelescopes have better resolution and moresensitivity at the longer mm wavelengths,while the smaller ones can get to the shorterwavelengths never before observed. We de-cided on the 25 meter dish, operating to 1mm wavelength, as the best compromise forcurrent scientific needs. The 40 meter dish(operating to 2 mm) was a close second.

Before answering the second question(what, if anything, do we put the telescopein?), I will describe something of the tele-scope design and its limitations. The tele-scope is an alt-az instrument (see coverphoto) like the 36-ft. dish, but unlike the140-ft. telescope (the last of the greatequatorials). Alt-az mountings are "symmet-ric" with respect to the direction of gravityand therefore can be built larger, for agiven allowed surface inaccuracy, than canequatorially-mounted structures. Unlike the36-ft. telescope, the 25-meter instrument is"wheel and track", the track referring to

the broad-based circular structure around whichthe telescope rotates in azimuth, and the wheelreferring to the elevation wheel which drivesit in elevation. The telescope is built up ofa series of structures, beginning with the tow-er, which consists of all major support membersresting on the azimuth driving trucks, up toand including the elevation axis, bearings, andthe elevation wheel. Upon the the elevationbearings is supported the main "backup struc-ture", which basically defines and supports theparabolic surface of the telescope. It alsocontains the feed support legs, which are anintegral part of the homology design of thebackup structure. In the cover photo, onlythe azimuth track, trucks, tower, and backupstructure are shown, for clarity. But there ismuch more. There are 60 key junctions in thebackup structure which are called homologypoints. No matter which way the backup struc-ture is tilted, all 60 of these points are de-signed to deflect under gravity so as always todefine a parabolic surface. The backup struc-ture is therefore homologous. The 60 homologypoints are too far apart, however, to allowconnecting the surface plates directly to them.The plates would sag too much in the middle.So another series of structures, known as "in-termediate" or "panel" structures is requiredto bridge the gaps between homology points.There are several different types of panelstructures and every one must itself be inde-pendently homologous, that is, have a set ofhomology points to which the surface plates areattached. There are 528 surface plates, eachabout 60 inches by 25 inches in our design. Aplate will consist of a cast aluminum surfacewith supporting rib structure; the surface willbe machines to final tolerance using a numeri-cally-controlled milling machine. It is in themanufacture of the surface plates, and theirsubsequent setting on the telescope, that wewill push modern technology to its limit. JohnFindlay has devoted much effort to just thisproblem of how to measure and set surface plates.

Since we have emphasized that the majorsub-structures of this telescope are designedto be homologous, exactly what limits the sur-face accuracy? It is best to answer this ques-tion in two parts. First, imagine that thetelescope is located in an ideal environment--no wind, and completely constant temperature.Then our error analysis indicates we might a-chieve a surface accuracy of about 2.3 mils


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GHz with no more than 20% loss. However, tothis must be added another 10% loss from thesteel framework. More hopefully, the tele-scope might be housed in an astrodome--a radomewith a door that can be opened for observingunder good weather conditions, thus avoidingthe 30% transmission loss inherent in a space-frame. We cannot build an astrodome like theone that contains the 36-ft. telescope, be-cause that design cannot be made large enough,and because we cannot use a door that flexesas it opens (the low-loss fabrics that we mustuse are not flexible). One possible astrodomedesign that we have been considering is shownin Figure 1. The movable door is actually a

Figure 1

segment of a spaceframe and slides open side-ways. This design will be very expensive, andit is accurate to say that at present we donot know whether an astrodome will be feasiblefor the 25 meter telescope.

The final question (where do we put thetelescope?) has perhaps been the most conten-tious. Not everyone agrees that it is worththe effort to go to a very dry, i.e. high moun-tain, site. So we included in our site surveyseveral kinds of locations, some of exceptionaldryness but posing severe logistic problems,and others which are not so good meteorological-ly, but which are relatively amenable and inex-pensive. Table 1 shows the sites we have stud-ied.


Vol. 16, No. 4 August 1975

(thousandths of an inch) ruts, or an "effi-cient" telescope at a wavelength as shortas 0.95 mm. What is even more interestingis that fully 50% of the surface error, bypresent estimate, is in the fabrication,sag, and setting of the surface plates.Another 25% or so is in the machining andgravitational sag of the subreflector (thetelescope will be used in both prime focusand Cassegrain configuration). The mainbackup structure and panel structures to-gether contribute only 25% of the totalerror, this error arising partly because oflimitations in the homology design, andpartly because of expected tolerance limitsin the construction.

In a realistic environment the 25meter telescope doesn't do quite so well.Winds increase the surface errors slightly,but affect the pointing much more seriously.Note that the beamwidth of the 25 meter dishwill be only 10 arc sec at 1 mm wavelength,so we must be able to point the instrumentto roughly 1 arc sec absolute. This isn'tpossible if wind speeds exceed about 10 mph,a condition we certainly may expect much ofthe time on a mountain top site.

The problems incurred by temperaturechanges and gradients are equally serious.These affect both pointing and surface ac-curacy. Under sunny skies we may expecttemperature gradients of as much as 9°F overdifferent parts of the telescope structure.This will produce a pointing uncertaintyabout as large as a 10 mph wind, but has amuch worse effect on the surface accuracy.The wavelength at which the telescope is50% efficient would go all the way up to 4mm, and the instrument would not be usableat . all at wavelengths shorter than 2.5 mm.Under night-time conditions, thermal gradi-ents of about 1.5°F can be expected overthe telescope, and these reduce the 50% ef-ficient wavelength from the (ideal) 0.95 mmto about 1.1 mm.

To overcome the effects of wind andtemperature, we plan to enclose the 25 meterdish in a radome. Even inside a radome wewill still have temperature gradients aslarge as 1.5°F, so the telescope will workabout as well as it would outside at night.The radome might be a spaceframe--a spheri-cally-shaped structure with a steel honey-comb frame covered with a fabric that trans-mits short wavelengths well. Some modern(but expensive!) fabrics transmit up to 1000

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August 1975 Vol. 16, No. 4-

Table 1.Sites Considered for the 25 Meter Telesco e

Site Long. Lat.

Mauna Kea, HA 155°28' 19°50'White Mt., CA 118°15' 37°37'Pikes Peak. CO 105°02' 38°50'Mt. Evans, CO 105°38' 39°36'South Baldy, NM 107°11' 33°58'Mt. Lemmon, AR 110°47' 32°36'Mt. Hopkins, AR 110°53' 31°41'VLA Site, NM 107°37' 34°01'Kitt Peak, AR 111°36' 31°58'

From existing water-vapor data, whichis not always as extensive or reliable as wewould like, it appears that White Mt. is thedriest site, closely followed by Mauna Kea,Mt. Lemmon, and the Colorado sites. Some ofus earlier favored White Mt., despite dif-ficult access and its rather northerly lat-itude (which excludes more of the Galaxyfrom view than does a more southerly site).The existing access from the nearest town,Bishop, includes 26 miles of rugged mountainroad that is virtually impassible in winterunless improved. We envisioned over-comingthis difficult problem by building a cablecar directly up the mountain-side adjacentto Bishop. However, the more we examinedthe cost the more prohibitive it became. Wehave also learned of certain adverse weatherpatterns affecting White Mt. on occasion,which were not apparent in our earlier stu-dies. These factors have caused us now toall but rule out White Mt. as the chosenland. Although they are probably also verydry, the Colorado sites have not receivedvery serious consideration, because there isno water-vapor data for them. Mt. Lemmon isas dry as Mauna Kea, but is probably unsuit-able for our needs because of a large numberof radio and television transmitters on ornear its summit. The Plains of San Augustin,home of the VLA, is not a strong contenderbecause of its relatively high water-vaporcontent.

We have pretty much come down to twopossibilities, Mauna Kea and Kitt Peak (asa backup). Mauna Kea is the strong favorite,and unless unexpected difficulties are en-countered, it will be chosen. Mauna Kea isa dormant volcano, situated on the island ofHawaii, about 40 miles by good road from thetown of Hilo (pop. 28,000) and about 20 miles

from Launa Loa, an active volcano. There is al-ready a large astronomical community on MaunaKea--an 88-inch optical telescope and severalsmaller ones, the 150-inch Canadian-French-Ha-waiian optical telescope presently under con-struction, and plans for the U. S. National In-frared Telescope and the U. K. National Infra-red Telescope. At present, the astronomers andmost of the staff associated with these instru-ments live in Honolulu, one hour away by jet,but NRAO would be located in Hilo, to providethe necessary rapid access to the telescopesite. Needless to say, it took several tripsto Hawaii by selected members of the NRAO staffto insure that Mauna Kea was indeed a suitablesite. Mauna Kea means "White Mt." in the Ha-waiian language.

Figure 2. A view of the summit area of MaunaKea; the structure on the left is the tower ofthe 150-inch optical telescope, and the domeon the right houses the 88-inch telescope.

How much will the 25 meter telescope pro-ject cost? Until we know the site for certain,and the nature of the radome, we cannot give afirm figure. The telescope itself, includingcomputer, is estimated at $4.4 million in 1974dollars, or $6.3 million in 1977 dollars. Pos-sibly $1 million more is required to build iton a remote site like Mauna Kea. To enclosethe telescope in a spaceframe will cost at least$2 million in 1977 dollars, and much more if anastrodome is built. At least $1 million willbe needed for site development at Mauna Kea.

At present, the basic telescope structureshave been designed, although some detailed workremains to be done on the subreflector assem-


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bly, surface plates, and bearings. Shopdrawings must eventually be made up for allcomponents. These steps will occupy wellover a year's work, but as best we cannotreceive funds for construction sooner thantwo or three years from now. We will sub-mit a formal proposal to the National Sci-ence Foundation very shortly, for funds forthe project. This will occur before the fi-nal site or radome selection, so a firm costfigure will be submitted later. The NSF isfully aware of our plans, through meetingsand informal discussion, and it appears thatthey view our proposal favorably. This doesnot mean that funding is assured or evenlikely. A recommendation for funding by theNSF (in whose budget the 25 meter telescopeproject is large enough to appear as a lineitem) must be approved by the Federal Officeof Management and Budget, and then finallyby Congress. If all goes smoothly, we couldget capital funds by 1978 and start con-struction shortly thereafter. The telescopecould start operation in 1981. While theseestimates are the optimistic ones, there isa reasonable hope that the 25 meter, mm-wavetelescope will be NRAO's next major instru-ment, after the VLA.

AN ODE TO KNEES 1

I think that I shall never seeA thing as ugly as a knee.Above whose gnarled and knotted crestThe mini-hemline comes to rest.Or one that's even worse than thatWhen padded with repulsive fat.

A knee that may in summer wearNothing at all, but be quite bare.Behind whose flex there oft remainsA network of blue and broken veins.Some knees continue to perplex -How can they form the letter "X"?While in another set one seesA pair of true parentheses.

Small nuts write verses such as these,But greater nuts display their knees!

Author Unknown

ITHE NRAO TOURS

Doris Hungerbuhler

Well, believe it or not, despite economicwoes, inflation, tight money, and high gasolineprices, this year has been a really great yearfor our tours. Up to August 3rd we've alreadyhad over twelve thousand people since we openedon June 12th and the tourists are still comingon strong.

Mr. June Riley, the bus drivers, and Ihave been having a pretty good summer meetingwith all the nice people from all over theplace. As a matter of fact, we've had visitorsfrom forty-five states (doesn't include theNational Youth Science Camp that comes everyyear to visit) and from a number of foreigncountries such as Thialand, Venzuela, Iceland,Holland, Germany, and many others.

People seem to like our tour because we'vehad a lot of compliments. While most everyoneseems to enjoy the movie, they generally aremore talkative about the bus ride. Some aresimply amazed! We love to see the reactions ontheir faces when they see the 300-foot tele-scope moving down into the pit, or when theysee deer on the site. For some, it's the firstdeer they have ever seen and sometimes it isthe high point of their whole vacation: A lotof people say they just can't get enough pic-tures and take the tour twice. Probably be-cause our tours are free, people spend the mo-ney saved on admission for books and post cardswe sell, and it just might be that they wantto learn more about radio astronomy.

When the people come back from the tour,many of them have questions to ask and the onequestion we are asked the most often is whydid they pick Green Bank, West Virginia, as thesite for the NRAO? Generally, we give them on-ly the main reasons why we are here: for exam-ple, our surrounding mountains keep out a lotof man-made radio interference, Green Bank isaway from industrial centers, and metropolitanareas, and the area itself is sparsely popu-lated.

Daily tours end on Labor Day, but we willcontinue tours on 'weekends through Septemberand October. We hope we continue getting nicepeople for the rest of the season. If bychance you've never taken our tour, come byand spend an hour with us. See you later!!!

Au ust 1975 Vol. 16, No.

REPORT FROM THE MOUNTAINTOP "27.MORE MODERN PROBLEMS OF OPTICAL ASTRONOMY

Bruce Balick

Last time we discussed individualstars. Many of the most beautiful sightsin the heavens consist of stellar systemsand the gas and dust often associated withthem. These do not appear as unresolvedpoints of light, but often as ragged yetcolorful patches or, in the case of galaxies,as spiral patterns of amazing symmetry. Inthis article we review some of these stellarsystems. We shall also discuss some of whatis known and not known about these magnifi-cent objects.

M16 is a cloud of luminous gas illuminatedby the hot, young stars of the cluster nearits center. Dark lanes of dust appear a-gainst the bright nebulosity. (120-inchreflector)

Aggregates, or clusters and associa-tions of stars are often found in the skies.The smallest groups consist of only a fewdozen stars, generally very young. If someof the stars are hot, they will energizethe clouds of dust and gas out of whichthey originally formed. The ultravioletlight from the hot stars strips electronsfrom atoms and heats the electrons to manythousands of degrees. These clouds are thevery colorful and beautiful "ionized nebu-lae" or "HII regions". The stripped elec-

trons have grazing collisions with one anotherand in the process generate strong radio emis-sion. HII regions, such as Orion, Sgr B2, W51,W3, DR21, and M17 are familiar objects to tele-scope operators in Green Bank. Near these neb-ulae are often found clouds of molecules. Thelargest of these HII regions are too far away tobe seen optically because of the galactic dust.

The inner region of the Orion Nebula which isfound in the sword of Orion, the hunter. Theinnerpart of the nebula glows with a brilliantgreen color. Some other features appear deepred, and the stars are blue-white when seenthrough a large telescope.

Other clusters of stars can contain manythousands of stars. In some clusters, calledglobular clusters, the stars are arranged sym-metrically. Globular clusters lie just outsideour galaxy but are bound to the galaxy by grav-itational forces. These are systems of extrem-ely old stars formed at the same time as ourgalaxy. All the massive hot stars have longsince died, and cool lower mass giant starsdominate the observed light of the globularclusters.

The largest systems of stars are the gal-axies themselves. Galaxies generally containbetween 100 million and 100 billion stars.Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is known to be afairly large galaxy as galaxies go. However,we can only see a small portion of it opticallybecause of the large quantities of dust in theplane of the galaxy. (We should be thankful for


Vol. 16, No. Auppt 1975 Page

this dust since without it star formationwould stop and the skies would be filled bya rather uninteresting collection of oldcool stars).

Messier 92 is a nearly globular cluster.About a hundred such clusters are seen justabove and below our galaxy. These are inorbit about the galaxy and actually gothrough the galactic plane from time to time.

Because our galaxy has the general shapeof a disk, and because we are located withinthis disk (about 2/3 of the way out from thecenter to the outer edge), the Milky Way isseen as a band of light across the sky. Itis during the summer months that the earthmoves between the sun and the inner part ofthe galaxy, so that during the summer nightthe brighter parts of the galaxy swing intoview. Because of the dust we can't see intothe central parts of the galaxy optically;however, at radio and infrared frequenciesthe galactic center is known to be quitestrong and active.

The problem of determining the struc-ture of our galaxy is a very difficult prob-lem indeed. One big problem is that we are

on the inside of the galaxy, and finding theshape is much like trying to determine theshape of a Coke bottle from a fixed point inthe interior! The presence of the dust doesn'thelp either.

By making use of the fact that the galaxyrotates, not as a stiff disk (like a record)but differently (like cake batter in a bawlwhen mixed at the center), some idea of thestructure can be gleaned from studies of stel-lar or gas motions. Most recent work in thisfield has been done at radio frequencies usingthe 21 cm line, and I'll not discuss it furtherhere. It seems likely, however, that when seenfrom the outside, our galaxy resembles the gal-axies shown on the next page.

A portion of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.Irregular splotches of dust are seen in pro-jection against the stellar background. Dustprevents us from seeing all very nearby re-gions of our own galaxy optically. Distantparts of the galaxy have been mapped, however,by radio astronomers.


a•e 10 Au ust 1975 Vol. 16, No.

The Whirlpool Galaxy seen here may closelyresemble our own galaxy.

I find it most interesting that onlyfifty years ago the existence of galaxiesas very distant collections of billions ofstars was very controversial (a sign of myage). Only with the advent of very largeoptical telescopes capable of isolating in-dividual types of stars (e.g. giant stars,variable stars, etc.) against the backgroundof many fainter stars (all smeared by theincessant turbulence of the earth's atmos-phere) was the question of the distance tothe "spiral nebulae" finally resolved. Mostgalaxies are at great distances, and onlythe brightest of the most distant galaxiescan be seen. The spiral structure seems thedominant feature in many galaxies, and thereason for the spiral shape (as opposed toother shapes) is still not completely under-stood. Galaxies are known to rotate and itseems plausible that the spiral arms ofgalaxies are lines of stars being "wound"around a central spool. However, moderntheories of galactic shapes involve very

Seen edge on, the galaxy NGC 4565 shows clearlythe dust which hampers our view of our own gal-axy.

different concepts (a good topic for an OBSERVERarticle by someone else). Optical astronomers,working closely with radio astronomers, arestudying the distributions and motions of thestars, gas and dust of galaxies in ever increas-ing detail. Of separate interest are the nu-clear regions of galaxies which often seem tohave an existence and activity of their own,along with a depleted gas content and an olderpopulation of stars.

Other types of galaxies include ellipticalgalaxies (without any spiral arms) and irregu-lar galaxies (which usually appear to be dis-organized or disrupted spiral systems). Fan-tastic and grotesque radio and infrared sourcesare sometimes associated with the centers ofirregular galaxies implying that eruptiveevents have taken place in the recent past(here I mean "recent" by cosmological stan-dards). Just as medical research focuses at-tention on sick or abnormal people, so too much



of the most active areas of research in op-tical astronomy is centered on these strangeand pathological galaxies.

Another interesting area of research inmodern optical astronomy is the enigma ofthe quasars. Quasars, or quasi-stellar ob-jects went unnoticed by optical astronomersuntil a decade ago because they appear, atfirst sight, as faint but undistinguishedblue stars. When radio astronomers foundvery strong radio sources coincident withthese objects, the quasars were called backto the attention of optical astronomers.Detailed optical studies gave totally per-plexing results for a few years until itwas realized that many quasars are movingaway from us (and presumably each other)with velocities approaching the speed oflight. These objects had to be the mostdistant ever observed, and their luminosityis that of not a billion stars, but as muchas a million galaxies! What a fantasticdiscovery!

Much of what we have learned about qua-sars has come from optical observations.However, quasars deserve an OBSERVER arti-cle of their own. Quasars, and these ir-regular galaxies that closely resemble them,are a subject of intense study at Lick Ob-servatory and elsewhere. These objects arespread over enormous distances and veloci-ties, and here we approach one of the mostdifficult and tantalizing problems of all,that of cosmology field theory.

In many areas of astronomy, but espe-cially in cosmology, theory and speculationeasily out-distance the ability of moderninstruments to make decisive measurements.Every new piece of information raises newquestions, and each seems to require severalanswers (paradoxically for most astronomersthis situation breeds stimulation, and notfrustration). I've now let the discussionwander from modern research in optical as-tronomy. I must soon stop, for this arti-cle is already far too long.

In re-reading the manuscript I realizehow fast I've covered the field of modernoptical astronomy, and how many stones I'veleft unturned. Optical astronomy occupiesa small portion of the frontier of astronom-ical knowledge. Many surprises and new pro-blems await detection at all wavelengths,but for the foreseeable future, optical stu-dies will remain the keystone of astronomi-

cal research.Let me conclude with an observation and a

suggestion. Observing at radio wavelengthscan be, indeed is, not only interesting butfun as well. Yet because we humans have no a-bility to "see" radio waves, observing at ra-dio wavelengths is somehow very, very abstract.By comparison, there is much excitement in see-ing the realities of the heavens directly withyour own eyes through even a small telescope,and especially through a larger one, that cannever be realized in radio astronomy.

In my four years at the NRAO I lookedthrough a moderate sized optical telescope onlyonce, and I now know that this was a real mis-take. I encourage all of you who can visit anearby observatory (e.g. U.Va.) to make the ar-rangements to do so. In fact, it would be ter-rIfic if the NRAO were to arrange for a specialnight of viewing at one of the larger tele-scopes, say the 36" at U.Va., at least onceevery six months or so. If you've never seenthe heavens through a telescope of this size,I promise you that you're in for a real thrill.It isn't even necessary (though it helps) toknow something about astronomy in order toappreciate the wonders of the heavens. As theysay, SEEING IS BELIEVING.

Don Hovatter brought in this "trimese" cucumber.

-..

twenty-seven (27) fighters, including theguards, and operates two fire engines. Thisis the closest fire service from Frost toBoyer. Public fire service engines are locatedin Durbin, Cass, Marlinton, and Hillsboro.Fire brigade membership is open to any em-ployee; for details ask any fire fighter.

I TAKE CARE OF THE FILING

I don't have to say that my grandmother diedIf I want to turn out for the Giants:

My boss won't grumble, my boss won't chide,I've got it down to a science!

I don't have to faint or resort to tears,Or use any feminine wiles--

They can't fire me--for the past two yearsI've been keeping the office files.

Yes, I have a system that's all my ownAnd it can't be explained and it can't

be shown.

I file by number, I file by letter,I file by ways that are ten times better!I file by subject, I file by date,I file by city, I file by state.I shun the trite, and I scorn conventions,My filing system has four dimensions.I regard "In re" at the top of a letterAs something to make it balance better.

I pay no attention to underliningAnd seldom get down to the person signing.

I've got the names of the Bureau's officialsNeatly arranged by their middle initials;

Customers' letters I've files insteadBY the color and size of their letterhead.

So they can't fire me, no matter how cross,No matter how mean and riling!

I'm Garbo herself—I'm the boss's boss,For I take care of the filing.

Author Unknown*

Pa 2e 12 August 1975 Vol. 16, No. 4

THE OBSERVATORY EMERGENCYORGANIZATION AT GREEN BANK

Bill delGiudice

In the last issue of the OBSERVER weintroduced you to the new emergency organi-zation and went on to describe the new am-bulance and the emergency medical servicesavailable. In this issue we intended to gointo more detail on how the fire brigadeworks but perhaps this can best be done bydescribing what happened at the last seri-ous fire the brigade responded to.

On June 15th, just after 5:00 a.m.,two men who had been sleeping in a smallcottage just behind a vacant two storyframe house in Green Bank, awoke to findthe large house totally engulfed in fire.The cottage was exposed to the intense heatof the fire and in danger of itself catch-ing fire. One of the occupants ran nextdoor to alert those in that dwelling and tocall the BFD Fire Co. The fire company inDurbin simultaneously retransmitted the a-larm to the Observatory fire brigade and re-sponded with two fire engines. The Obser-vatory responded with both fire engines andeight men. The first Observatory engine(with two men) to arrive laid a hose to pro-tect the cottage which was by now smokingand blistering paint. The second Observa-tory engine put a hose into operation onthe fire building. The first Durbin menarrived and assisted the Observatory menuntil the first BFD fire engine arrived,and also worked to cool the fire building.The large dwelling was already beyond sav-ing when the fire was discovered but promptand efficient action by the Observatorybrigade saved the cottage which was withinseconds of becoming involved in the fire.

This fire demonstrated the efficiencyof the mutual aid system with the publicfire company, the efficiency of the Obser-vatory's new system for calling the firebrigade together and the effectiveness offire suppression operations. In the shorthistory of the new organization the cottagewas the second structure which the brigadehas saved from serious damage or destruction.On May 5th the brigade was able to stop thespread of a fire which destroyed the CassRailroad Depot just two feet short of theShay Inn.

The fire brigade presently consists of

Vol. 16, N Au ust 1975 Pa :e 13

IRECREATION ASSOCIATION NEWS

Chuck Brockway

PICNIC

Congratulations are in order to the following contest winners in events held on July 26 at theNRAORA picnic:

Crawling Contest ................. .............................. Matthew Crist

Golf Ball Pickup

• . •

...... .... 1st - Billy Joe Carpenter; 2nd - Kelly Gordon

Balloon Race - Girls .................... 1st Nida Hively; 2nd - Lorna Gottesman

Balloon Race - Boys ........... ...... 1st - Paul Fomalont; 2nd - Stevie Workman

Crab Race - Girls ................................................ Tabatha Beale

Crab Race - Boys ...........................1st - Matthew Barkley; 2nd - John Monk

Three Legged Race - Girls ..................... Johnna Ralston and Shannon Barkley

Three Legged Race - Boys ...........................Darrell Schiebel and Pat Smith

Shoe String Race - Girls ........................ Jennifer Fleming and Kusum Menon

Shoe String Race - Boys ......................... Scotty Howell and David Campbell

Sack Race - Girls ............................................................................................. ...........Regetta Cassell

Sack Race - Boys ................................................... Danny Dolan

Back to Back Race - Girls ........................... Susan Vance and Anita Oliver

Back to Back Race - Boys Chuck Weaver and Danny Dolan

Egg-Spoon Race .................................. ............ ...... Kim Dunkle

Football Passing Contest Stan Conley

Wheelbarrow Race ......................................................................... Lou Schiebel and George Patton

Egg Throw ................................. ........................................................................... Gerry and Jo Valencia

Horseshoe Pitching ............................................................ James Carpenter and Gerry Valencia

Golf Driving ....................................................................................................................... Bill Radcliff

Casting Contest .......... ....... . .... . . . ...........

•

.. James Carpenter

Swimming Contests

10-11 - Freestyle - Girls ............ ... . . ..... . . .. .. .. Jennifer Howard

10-11 - Freestyle - Boys ............ . ............. ....... ....... Barry Williams

12-14 - Freestyle - Girls . . ..... ...... ............. Amy Vrable

12-14 - Freestyle - Boys ............................................ Danny Dolan

15-17 - Freestyle - Girls .......................................... Cathy Patton

15-17 - Freestyle - Boys ......................................... Chuck Brockway

10-13 - Underwater Distance - Girls, Boys ............................. Ed Somers

14-17 - Underwater Distance - Girls, Boys ......................... Chuck Brockway

THE RECREATION ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS WISHES TO THANK THE LADIES AT THE CAFETERIA, THEMEN AT CENTRAL SHOPS AND PLANT MAINTENANCE, AND THE MANY VOLUNTEERS WHO HELPED SERVE FOOD, RUNGAMES, AND HAUL MATERIALS ON PICNIC DAY FOR THEIR MUCH NEEDED AND APPRECIATED HELP!

'1101:11

Swimming Contest Winners

The chow line was long but the food wasworth it.


BALL FIELD

In the spring of this year, some Rec. Associa-tion members approached the NRAORA Directorsand asked if the ball field could be graded inthe infield in an effort towards improvement.Since partial grading has already been done ayear ago anyway, it was decided to grade theentire infield. Once this was done it was dis-covered that some players prefer grass to aclear infield. The ball field now stands gradedand is dragged periodically to smooth it furtherand to keep the weeds down. It is ready foruse - which will additionally smooth out theinfield. If it is not used by those who likea clear (and fast) infield, we will probablygo back to grass (and weeds) in a further at-tempt to maximize its use.

TEEN PARTY

There will be a dance party at the picnic shel-ter at the Rec. Area from 8 to 11 p.m. onFriday, August 15, for members and guests be-tween thirteen and nineteen years old. RayHallman's music machine will be there alongwith soft drinks and hot dogs. Details onbulletin boards.

REC. AREA REGULATIONS

The Board of Directors has been working forthe past few months on amending and clarifyingthe Rules and Regulations for the Rec. Area.This is a time-consuming and slow-moving pro-cess due to the workload on the Board and be-cause some of the rules involve much discussionin the interest of fairness and full consider-ation to all users of the Rec. Area. The com-plete Rules and Regulations will be posted assoon as they are finished; in the meantime,those parts of the rules that have already beenpassed on by the Board will be sent to thoseindividuals who have approached the Board withspecific questions or problems regarding thatparticular rule. In this way, we hope to keepconcerned members informed of the Board's posi-tion in the shortest possible time.

Vo l. 16, August 1975

MAJOR MEDICAL INSURANCE MAXIMUM INCREASED

Monroe Petty

Effective August 1, 1975, the maximumlifetime benefit payable under the NRAO ma-jor medical program has been increased forboth active and retired employees.

Formerly, active employees and theirdependents could receive up to $50,000 inlifetime major medical benefits. This bene-fit maximum has now been raised to $100,000for each insured individual.

Retired employees and their dependentswho participate in Medicare are covered bya supplemental medical insurance programprovided by the Observatory. Formerly, thesupplemental insurance was limited to a$25,000 lifetime benefit maximum. Thislimit has now been increased to $50,000.

For active employees and their depen-dents, major medical benefits apply afterall basic hospital, surgical, and diagnosticbenefits have been paid by our insurancecarrier. In order to establish a major med-ical claim, an insured individual must incur$100 in out-of-pocket medical expenses dur-ing a calendar year. Major medical benefitsare then payable at the rate of 80% (50% inthe case of out-patient mental treatment ofa dependent) for the balance of the calendaryear.

For any calendar year in which $1,000or less is received in major medical bene-fits, there is no deduction from the $100,000lifetime maximum. If the benefits exceed$1,000 for a calendar year, only those bene-fits over $1,000 are charged against the$100,000 maximum.

Employees who wish additional informa-tion concerning this benefit change shouldcontact the Personnel Office in Charlottes-ville.

BUT WHERE IS IT??? 1

Sarah Martin

Since NRAO's library collection nowspreads over five locations (CV -Edgemont Rd.,CV-Ivy Rd., Green Bank, Tucson, and Socorro),sometimes it's a bit difficult to determinewhere a particular title is in the system.To make your search less difficult, the fol-lowing is intended as a brief guide to thecollection.

The main library in Charlottesville andthe library in Green Bank have duplicate cardcatalogs. Electronics, Tucson, and the VLAdo not have card catalogs. However, theyhave printouts arranged in call number order.There printouts are also in the Charlottes-ville library.

These catalogs contain cards for everytitle in the NRAO system. The trick is tolearn to read the notes on the cards to de-termine just where a particular title is lo-cated.

For instance:If the card specifies no location;the title is in Charlottesville.

If the card's call number beginswith TJ or TK and no location isindicated, the book is in the elec-tronics library on Ivy Road.

If a duplicate copy is also locatedin Green Bank, its card will bestamped "also in GB" below the cardnumber and/or a note in the body ofthe card will tell you, for example,"GB-Copy 2".

If the only copy is in Green Bank,the card will tell you this too.

If the Tucson or VIA locations arenoted on catalog cards, it meansthat the only copy is at that loca-tion.

CREF UNIT VALUES - 1975I hope this brief explanation will help

you understand our library system. Perhapseverything isn't clear yet. In that case, ifyou have a specific question about a title,give the Charlottesville library a call.

January $30.67February 32.79March 33.77April 36.12May 38.07June 39.88


NEW EMPLOYEES

Richard W. Porcas Samuel E. Okoye Joseph S. GrayResearch Associate Vis. Assoc. Scientist DesignerBasic Research - CV Basic Research - CV VLA Project - CV

John Granlund Jean Bulabois Nash K. Burger, IIIElectronics Eng. Vis. Applied Physicist Computer Operator

Electronics Div. - CV VLA Project - CV Computer Div. - CV

Kenneth M. Barbier Michele DeBell Robert T. SchweigertTech. Specialist Secretary Sr. TechnicianVLA Project - NM Electronics Div. CV VLA Project - NM



Kris D. Kuhlken Rosalie G. DouglasLaborer/Lifeguard Technical Specialist

Plant Maintenance - GB VLA Project - NM

OTHER NEW EMPLOYEES (PHOTOS NOT AVAILABLE)

Socorro/Magdalen.N . Pro'ect

David B. Archuleta - Special Services Asst.James F. Cope - Technical SpecialistFlorence C. Foster - SecretaryMarion B. Gallagher - SecretaryTheodore J. Jorgensen - Senior BuyerJudith S. Kampf - SecretaryEugene G. Keyes - AccountantHarlan MartinezEmily M. Mathieu - Accounting ClerkRamon Molina - Telescope MechanicTheodore E. Neubauer - Staff Shop Tech.Mikio Ogai - Electronics EngineerErnst Raimond - Visiting MathematicianDonovan L. Swann - Sr. Administrative Asst.Lester M. Temple - Mechanical EngineerEmilio Vallez - Stores Clerk

Tucson, Arizona

Margie Brown - TypistWilliam E. Schoknecht - Electronic Eng.Steven K. Wilson - Janitor

REHIRES

Saundra M. Mason - CharlottesvilleStephen L. Galhouse - TucsonMichael S. Hersman - TucsonJohn D. Liebenrood - New Mexico

TERMINATIONS

Richard A. SramekPhillip D. RuppPaul R. WoodwardElizabeth H. GodwinRosemary L. LafranceGeorge H. PurcellJames F. WooddellJesse E. Davis, Jr.Richard D. TrentJames C. PeeleRobert A. StobieVictoria L. TaylorTimoteo RuizJohn E. MillerRobert A. TurnerH. William SuttonGrover L. Barkley

Basic Research - CVTucson OperationsBasic Research - CVVLA Project - CVBasic Research - CVBasic Research - CVPlant Maintenance - GBElectronics - CVFiscal Division - GBComputer Division - CVComputer Division - CVAdm. Services - GBTucson OperationsTucson OperationsVLA Project - CVVLA Project - CVAdm. Services - GB

„

VLA receiver number 1 shown installed andundergoing tests in a mock-up of the antennavertex room.

This tortuous test track belongs to Mr. Ogai,our resident Japanese waveguide expert, andis designed to test how well 20 mm waveguidestands up to the rigors of being bent, twistedand turned when installed on a telescope.


Pa :e 18 Au ust 1975 Vol. 16, No.

IREPORT FROM THE HIGH PLAINS I

Jon Spargo

Well, I thought it would work but itdidn't. One learns that, at NRAO, one can-not hide from Wally Oref. So, when thephone rang the other day I shouldn't havebeen so surprised to hear, "Hey, Jon!, howabout sending me something for 'The Obser-ver' about what's happening out there."

The key word to describe what is hap-pening around here these days is organiza-tion. The months of June and July saw thearrival of most of the VLA people from GreenBank and Charlottesville. For a while, atleast, things were rather hectic as peoplewere scurrying everywhere unpacking theirlong lost treasures and then finding spaceto work on them. Now that everyone is moreor less settled, the work pace is pickingup rather rapidly as the date for the com-pletion of the first antenna draws near.

Since the visual aspect of the progressbeing made is probably much more preferableto my verbal ramblings, the rest of this re-port will be mostly pictures accompanied bybrief explanations. In the future, as webecome a little more organized we hope toprovide regular contributions to "The Ob-server", by a variety of people, to keepyou informed of our progress.

This shows construction proceeding on thecontrol building. This building plus theadjacent cafeteria are scheduled for com-pletion early next year.

Antenna No. 1. shortly after the dish had beenbolted to the pedestal and yoke.

Vol. 16, No. August 1975

If all goes will, i.e., no sand in the The great orange choo-choo, otherwise knownthreads, this is how two 16-ft. sections of as an antenna transporter, nearing completionwaveguide are coupled together. on the track just outside the antenna building.

No, this is not the Alaska pipeline--only aportion of the first waveguide run beingreadied for burial. (continued--next page)

-'s

P e 20 August 1975 Vol. 16, No. 4

Farts of Antenna No. 2 awaiting assembly.

* * * *

Another load of surface panels arrives forAntenna No. 1.

In the background, Dish No. 2 is seen takingshape as Antenna No. 1 in the foregroundnears readiness for roll out. When No. Iwas under construction the dish was assem-bled in a similar manner while the pedestaland yoke was put together on the forwardset of pads as shown. The transporter wasthen backed under the pedestal and yoke as-sembly and lifted it off the pads. Thedish was then raised by hoists and thetransporter with the pedestal and yoke waspositioned under it. The dish was thenlowered and bolted to the yoke, after whichthe whole antenna was repositioned on theforward pads as shown in Photo No. 7.

Around the end of July Henry Taylor charmedthis rattlesnake with several one pound rocksnear the interferometer track. First reportfrom Henry was that it was nine feet long andhad about 20 rattles. Actually it was a smallone: 47 inches long with 13 rattles.

- b:

Vol. 16, No. 4 August 1 975

SUMMER STUDENT PICNIC

Jeffrey S. Waldhuter

Summer student picnic was held Saturday, June 21, 1975, and consisted of the summer stu-dents and their advisors and families. The weather couldn't have been better. We started outwith a softball game, the Green Bank Mountaineers versus the Charlottesville Theoreticians.After a two hour battle the Mountaineers defeated the visitors 11 to 5, with Jim Dolan (pitcher)taking the victory. Then came chow, which consisted of roast beef, chicken, potato salad, freshsalad / ice cream and other goodies one finds at a picnic. I must stop at this point to thankthe cafeteria staff for a job well done, everything was delicious. After everyone was contentedfood wise, we commenced with the most favorite sport of Green Bank, volleyball (better known asWallyball), with the games continuing into dusk. Now with everyone pooped we lit our annualsummer student bonfire, with the help of one solid case of computer paper. Then topping off theday with a midnight snack; hotdogs, chili and toasted marshmallows. Overall, everyone had afantastic day. I would like to conclude by thanking Ray Hallman for supplying the music and therest of the NRAO staff who assisted me in turning out a great picnic, I could have not done itwithout them.

Standing (left to right): Michael Carter, Kevin Baines, Judith Soukup, John Brasunas, JeffreyWaldhuter, Richard Glassco, Alan Marscher, David Berg, Kenneth Cosner,Jack Burns, Walter Gorman

Sitting (left to right): Edward Teyssier, Alice Kust


TUCSON OPERATIONS:THE 1974-1975 SEASON

M. A. Gordon

This year continues to be a hectic onefor Tucson Operations. Considering the ex-cellent support we receive from every quarterof the NRAO, I'm beginning to believe thatconfusion is an intrinsic part of millimeter-wave astronomy. This year Tucson Operationsaccommodated at least 120 observers frommore than 40 institutions, all of this with-in one approximately 320-day season. In ad-dition to the United States, the observerscame from Great Britain, France, Australia,Canada and the Soviet Union.

To accommodate these diverse programs,we're going to make changes in our physicalplant. In September, the space downtownwill increase from 4800 sq. ft. to about6400 sq. ft. to provide additional storageand laboratory facilities. On the mountain,we shall construct a 2500 sq. ft. buildingto service the heavy and delicate cooled-receivers. The old mountain electronicslab (250 sq. ft.) will be converted into anoffice area for observers.

Along with this growth, there have beensome personnel changes. Margie Brown hasjoined us as a part-time secretary, comingin when Maxine Thomas is on vacation or illand when our clerical work becomes unmanag-able. Ron Womeldorff has joined the Elec-tronics Division to help with constructionof new hardware, as has Bill Schoknecht, whohas been analyzing the correction of the 36-foot's surface. Paul Rhodes has becomechief telescope operator, thereby replacingJohn Miller who accepted an irresistable of-fer to return to his old company in Phoenix.Marty Tester is now assistant chief tele-scope operator. We are pleased to welcomeRosalie Douglas as a new telescope operator,who brings a feminine touch to our mountainoperation alung with her considerable tech-nical abilities. And finally, because ofour and their increased size, Kitt Peak Na-tional Observatory is no longer able tofurnish us custodial service on the mountainon a pro rata basis. Therefore, StewartWilson has joined us on a part-time basis tokeep our mountain facilities clean.

The major technical activity this yearhas been in three directions. Bobby Ulich

(and Bob Haas) have tried to devise a techni-que for correcting for atmospheric absorption,which is a major obstacle to quantitative ob-serving at millimeter wavelengths. The Astro-physical Journal will publish their article inits Supplement Series. Along with this work,Bobby has been experimenting with other poten-tially useful techniques to provide absolutecalibration of telescope over a wide frequencyrange.

John Payne, Mike Hollis, John Findlay andBill Schoknecht have been making great progressunderstanding the surface of the 36-foot tele-scope with the aim of improving it. With theaid of a 2-ft. long cart carrying a distancetransducer, they have made contour maps of thesurface to an accuracy of approximately 0.04millimeters (0.0016 in.). Computer analysisof this surface illuminated with our existingfeeds reproduces the observed aperture effici-encies, the astigmatism and the focal curves.These signs all point to the reliability ofthe contour map. During this summer, they areplanning to apply self-sticking aluminum foilto the low points in the surface. The computerpredicts an 80 percent increase in apQrtureefficiency at 115 GHz when this has been done.However, hard-learned experience tells us toadopt a wait-and-see attitude.

The third area of concentration has beenin the reliability and performance of the re-ceivers. The cooled-mixer receiver covering80 to 120 GHz has increased the sensitivity ofthe 36-foot telescope by a factor of 3, somuch that two more are now under construction.The builders of this new device, Tony Kerr,Jesse Davis, Neil Horner, Jack Cochran andSandy Weinreb, can rightfully feel a greatsense of accomplishment. Not only have manynew spectral lines been detected, but the sen-sitivity of this one receiver has reawakenedcontinuum astronomy at millimeter-wavelengths.There have been many other improvements inhardware which, because of their diverse na-ture, are more difficult to single out exceptto say that the observer complaints appear tobe shifting more to weather and to living con-ditions in the trailers rather than to short-comings of the hardware.

The last year has certainly not been allwork. In October, we enjoyed our first familyouting on Kitt Peak itself. With the aid ofKitt Peak National Observatory (particularlyArt Hoag), our families enjoyed a tour of the


Vol. 16, No. 4 August 1975 Pa e 23

The next morning, we awoke at 6 a.m. to aspectacular, beautiful day and enjoyed some re-venge with our noisy preparation of breakfast.At 7 a.m., we left and arrived in Bishop atnoon. For consistency, of course, we declinedmotel comforts and camped at the University ofCalifornia's rather primitive facilities eastof Bishop. After being taken to the summit areaby helicopter, we accomplished our objectivesof investigating a possible cablecar route byexploring on foot and by helicopter the upperand lower regions of Milner Canyon during thenext two days.

The trip home began late one afternoonwhen we crossed the Inyo-White Mountain rangeand drove east into western Nevada. We campedat 7500 ft. near abondoned gold mines, on asite overlooking a monumentally desolate butbeautiful valley. Although we had no difficul-ties with wind at this campsite, Dewey spenta miserable night shivering in a non-mountain-eering sleeping bag when the temperaturesdropped well below freezing (I had been for-tunate in borrowing a down sleeping bag)! Iknew the novelty of a camping-business trip hadended when, out of the corner of my eye, Ispotted Dewey pushing my exquisitely boiledpotatoes off of his breakfast plate into thegarbage pit; clearly it was time to return tothe comforts of home.

All-in-all, this trip was a pleasure forboth of us, in spite of the occasional incon-veniences. We were able to meet all of ourobjectives as well as gain other highly use-ful information regarding White Mountain'sfeasibility as a site for a new millimeter-wave telescope.

36-foot telescope (with Ned Conklin at thecontrols), a barbecue picnic (with DeweyRoss unable to get his fire started), a num-ber of public information movies about NRAO,a tour of the optical telescopes while inuse, and even the use of one of KPNO's 16-inch telescopes to look at Jupiter and atthe moon.

Our Christmas Party was held at a fam-ous ice cream shop, where we gorged gallonsof ice cream before noon and watched an ex-cellent magician baffle our judgement. And,we had a spring picnic in Saguaro NationalMonument, where I learned the hard way thatWest Virginians are born to the game ofhorseshoes--in addition to their enormouscapacities for charcoal-broiled steaks.

During early spring Dewey Ross and Ihad to go to White Mountain to investigatesome areas that had been overlooked in anearlier visit. White Mountain is the sec-ond highest mountain in California (14,250ft.) and overlooks the Owens Valley, nearBishop and the CalTech interferometer. Itslocation uNIK.es air travel tedious and incon-venient from Tucson, requiring pre-dawnflights out of Tucson to Los Angeles andthen a change of airports to pick up com-muter service to the Owens Valley. For ourconvenience and for the opportunity of in-vestigating the locale in detail, we decidedto drive directly to White Mountain and campon the way. Leaving Tucson at 11 a.m. afterbuying groceries we arrived at Death ValleyNational Monument at 10:30 p.m. in 30-40 mphwinds following passage of a cold front.With considerable effort, we managed to e-rect our 2-man nylon mountain tent in thewinds and darkness, moving the car out ofthe camp-site's driveway to serve as an up-wind anchor for the flapping rainfly. Onceinside, the flapping of the tent was soloud and violent that I wondered about beingblown away with us lying on its sewed-infloor. But, within an hour the winds sub-sided, only to be replaced by three carloadsof college students who had picked out ourunused driveway in the nearly deserted camp-ground to practice slamming car doors,pounding metal stakes, and shouting to eachother for the next two hours. Unlike theearlier flapping tent, this noise was ex-tremely discordant, their occasional trip-ping on our tent lines really raised ourblood pressure, and • sleep seemed impossible.

THOUGHTS WHILE EATING A ROAST BEEFSANDWICH AT THE OBSERVATORY CAFETERIA

Jennifer Howard

All Scientists seem to be up in the air;Some look as though they aren't anywhere!Some are mighty and some are meek;All of them use wacky terms when they speak.You can't understand the long words they use,Ask them to yield and they only refuse.Those words they use are so huge and keen,I think even they don't know what they mean!

-

IBOWLING I

Those men interested in bowling in the 1975-76season which starts September 2, 1975, contactDick Hiner, ext. 309 GB.


ISUMMER STUDENTS' COMMENTS I

Best of all I like the Southern Belles.They knock me out when I'm down there. Theweather is least likeable.

An Anonymous Slave

The most wonderful aspect of my stay inCharlottesville is the amazing weather. Ifit rained just a little more, I could pad-dle to work in a canoe. This is my firststay in "Dixie", so it's a challenge learn-ing to talk like the natives - but they'reoften easier to understand than radio astron-omers!

R. G.

Being from Charlottesville, I was not over-whelmed, as the other summer students herewere, by the ever-exciting night-life ofthis "Las Vegas of the Southeast Piedmont".However, I do greatly appreciate being ableto concentrate my time on research and nothaving to worry about where the next pay-ments for my Cadillac and 40-foot yacht arecoming from. Playing ice hockey and soft-ball and eating lunch with Barry Turner, etal, have successfully prevented me fromworking on science more than 10 hours perday, a condition known to lead to such dis-orders as speaking in FORTRAN and addictionto Pepsi-Cola and Zero candy bars.

Al Marscher

NATIONAL YOUTH SCIENCE CAMP - 1975

Dr. Howard received a nice letterthanking him and the NRAO for making the1975 National Youth Science Camp a success.Here is an excerpt from his letter:

Dear Dr. Howard:At the close of each year's camp we

like to express our gratitude to those manywho help make the National Youth ScienceCamp an experience that the one-hundred del-egates will not soon forget. No doubt thereare many more at NRAO who help us than werealize. This years camps was judged to beone of the best ever because of all of their

efforts. This could not have happened withoutthe support and active help of many. I hopeyou will express the appreciation of the ScienceCamp Staff to the NRAO Staff for their manykindnesses and considerations during our stayat Bartow.

Signed...Joseph IC Hutchinson, Jr.Director

Dr. Howard also asked us to include athanks to the staff members who gave camp lec-tures, who acted as guides, and to visiting ob-servers who spoke to small groups of studentsat the telescopes. In addition, he wanted usto include a special thanks of appreciation tothe personnel of the Electronics and TelescopeDivisions.

ke*u*:

One group of National Youth Science Campers lis-tening to Jim Dolan tell it how it is. Camperswere here for a morning visit on July 9, 1975.

the observ er - nrao.edu · national radio astronomy observatory, p. 0. box 2, ... plates than was...

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