Altitude 43 m | Organization University of Tasmania | |
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Location Cambridge, Tasmania, Australia Established 26m Opened May 13th, 1986 Website ra-wiki.phys.utas.edu.au/ Mount Pleasant Antenna 26 metre radio telescope Vela Antenna 14 metre radio telescope Address Drnholms, 40 Denholms Rd, Cambridge TAS 7170, Australia Similar Mt Pleasant Radio Ast, Paul Wild Observatory, Yevpatoria RT‑70 radio tele, Mark II, Orroral Valley Tracking | ||
The Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory is a radio astronomy based observatory owned and operated by University of Tasmania, located 20 km east of Hobart in Cambridge, Tasmania. It is home to three radio astronomy antennas and the Grote Reber Museum.
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Equipment
The observatory has three radio telescopes: the Mount Pleasant 26 metre antenna, the 14 metre Vela Antenna and a 12-metre AuScope VLBI Antenna. The Observatory is linked to the University of Tasmania's Hobart campus with a 25 km fibre optic cable, installed in 2007.
The 14 m Vela telescope was constructed in 1981 as a dedicated instrument for observation of the Vela Pulsar. The telescope has tracked the pulsar 18 hours a day, nearly continuously for over 20 years.
The 26 metre Radio dish came from the Orroral Valley Tracking Station, ACT, where it was used as a satellite tracker within the Spacecraft Tracking and Data Acquisition Network and then for support to NASA manned missions. The 26 metre telescope is used in Australia's very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) network.
Other Telescopes
The University of Tasmania also operates three other radio astronomy antennas: the 30 metre Ceduna Radio Observatory (SA) and two additional AuScope 12 metre antennas at Katherine (NT) and Yaragadee (WA).
The University also owns and operates optical observatories: Canopus Hill Observatory (soon to be closed) and the Bisdee Tier Optical Astronomy Observatory (under construction).
Grote Reber Museum
There is also a museum on site dedicated to the life and works of Grote Reber. It contains some of his ashes and a state of the art 3D theatre. It also discusses the major role Tasmania plays in radiophysics The museum hosts about 5000 visitors annually and runs several Open Days each year. University of Tasmania students also act as tour guides as part of their studies.