A significant portion of the activities of the
Max-Planck-Institut
für
Radioastronomie (MPIfR), which was founded in 1966, is based on
observations
made with the 
100m radio telescope
in
Bad Münstereifel-Effelsberg. The telescope has been successfully
operated
since August 1972. With its diameter of 100m it is still one of the two
largest fully steerable radio telescopes in the world. The very high
surface accuracy enables
a use down to a shortest wavelength of 3.5mm.
Numerous high-sensitivity and low-noise receiver
systems for the wavelength range between 3.5mm and 74cm for the
100m
radio telescope have been developed in the laboratories of the
institute
(Bonn
building).
This observing facility is offered not only to Institute
members, but
also, up to 40% of the available time, to visiting scientists. For many
years frequent use of this possibility has been made by scientists from
German universities and from numerous foreign institutes. In addition,
there is extensive cooperation between the Institute and scientists
from
foreign countries, including the United States, the People's Republic
of
China, France and Argentina.
The 100m telescope is capable for radio observations in
different observing
modes, in agreement with the distinct research groups at the MPI
für
Radioastronomie. These observing modes are:
- Observations in radio
continuum - the investigation of galactic and extragalactic sources
in broad bands at several wavelengths. This research group also
comprises
investigations in the 21cm line of neutral hydrogen (HI).
- Investigation
of the radio radiation from pulsars
at very high time resolution.
Regularly, the institute participates in observations
within the VLBI
framework, a global
network of radio telescopes.
Since the beginning of 1978, a special processor has been available for
the reduction of data from these experiments in order to obtain
exceptionally
high angular resolution images of radio sources. This facility has been
steadily upgraded and is now the European Center
for
VLBI data analysis.
This equipment is complemented by several process
computers at the 100m
telescope and a larger computer network at the Institute in Bonn
including
many scientific workstations. These are used both for data reduction
and
analysis and for theoretical studies.
In order to extend the astronomically usable wavelength
range, the MPIfR
led a project to build a 30m
radio
telescope for observations in the lower mm wavelength range, which
is inaccessible to the 100m telescope. The construction of this
telescope
below the summit of Pico Veleta (Sierra Nevada in Southern Spain) was
finished
in 1985. At that time the 30m telescope was handed over to a newly
founded Institute
for Radio-Astronomy in the Millimeter wavelength
range
( (IRAM),
located in Grenoble, France.
With
its excellent surface accuracy the 30m telescope can be used down to a
wavelength of 0.87mm.
Receiver systems for the sub-mm wavelength range have
been developed
at the Institute in Bonn since 1981. In the beginning, these receivers
were used on large optical telescopes or in flying
observatories.
On September 18th, 1993 a special sub-mm radio telescope
of 10 m
diameter was inaugurated on Mt. Graham (3200 m) in Arizona. In honour
of the discoverer of radio waves it
was named
Heinrich-Hertz-Telescope
(HHT).
APEX (Atacama
Pathfinder Experiment) is a new submm telescope of 12 m diameter,
built at 5000 m altitude in the Chajnantor plane (Atacama desert,
Chile). Starting in 2004, it is operated in collaboration with Onsala
Space Observatory, Sweden, and the European Southern Observatory ESO.
APEX is capable to
perform astronomical observations down to shortest wavelengths below
0.3 mm (submm and Terahertz range).
Scientists of the MPIfR have now access to the whole
radio wavelength
range usable from the surface of the Earth.
This unique set of observatories with the full range of
radio astronomical
tools allows a broad range of investigations. Many current astronomical
research topics are represented within the MPIfR staff. To name but a
few:
- Analysis of structural changes in the inner core
region (3C273),
and of the intra-day
variable radio radiation from compact
radio sources.
- Observations of the continuum
and line
emission of our Milky Way in order to investigate its structure and
its physical properties, as well as its chemical composition and the
chemical
evolution.
- Studies of the structure and composition of comets
and asteroids.
Currently the Max-Planck-Institut für
Radioastronomie has 190
employees including 60 scientists. In addition, some 30 scientific
visitors,
fellows and scholarship holders work at the Institute.
The MPIfR Board of Directors includes
Prof.
Dr. Michael Kramer,
Hon.-Prof.
Dr. Karl M. Menten,
Prof.
Dr. Gerd Weigelt and Hon.-Prof. Dr.
Anton Zensus.
MPIfR Home
deutsch
/ english
http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/public/bonn_e.html
Last modified on Friday, December 9th, 2011
public_at_mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
