1. 1 The Itty Bitty Telescope and Sidewalk Radio Astronomy Sue Ann Heatherly National Radio Astronomy Observatory www.nrao.edu

2. 2 What is radio astronomy?

3. 3 Radio Waves are NOT sound!

4. 4 A light wave is a light wave, no matter how long...

5. 5 Radio Telescope Optical Telescope Nowadays, there are more similarities between optical and radio telescopes than ever before.

6. 6 Optical and radio astronomy can be done from the ground! Credit: Windows to the Universe, thence to NASA/STSCI/JHU

7. 7 A Tour of the Radio Sky 7

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9. 9 Gas Spectra Neon Sodium Hydrogen

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20. 20 Building an Itty Bitty Telescope GBTIBT David Fields with kids in Memphis

21. 21 RV Kit--$60 from Ebay 12 GHz satellite dish combined with a signal meter becomes a radio telescope!

22. 22 Constructing the dish

23. 23 Realigning the mounting sleeve

24. 24 Realigning the mounting sleeve

25. 25 Realigning the mounting sleeve

26. 26 Realigning the mounting sleeve

27. 27 Realigning the mounting sleeve

28. 28 Mounting Sleeve Schematic

29. 29 Mounting the Dish

30. 30 Mounting the Dish

31. 31 Mounting the Dish

32. 32 Mounting the Dish

33. 33 Mounting the Dish

34. 34 Finishing Up

35. 35 Finishing Up

36. 36 Finishing Up

37. 37 Finishing Up

38. 38 Finishing Up

39. 39 Finishing Up

40. 40 Detectors produce an audible tone which increases in pitch when you detect radio signals. Most expensive ($99). Has built in battery. Mid-priced ($50), needs a power supply. Cheapie! ($15), needs a power supply.

41. 41 Making the power supply

42. 42 Preparing the Coax

43. 43 Preparing the Coax

44. 44 Preparing the Coax

45. 45 Preparing the Coax

46. 46 Preparing the Coax

47. 47 Preparing the Coax

48. 48 Assembling the battery pack

49. 49 Assembling the battery pack

50. 50 Assembling the battery pack

51. 51 Assembling the battery pack

52. 52 Assembling the battery pack

53. 53 Assembling the battery pack

54. 54 Assembling the battery pack

55. 55 Assembling the battery pack

56. 56 Assembling the battery pack

57. 57 Assembling the battery pack

58. 58 Assembling the battery pack

59. 59 Assembling the battery pack

60. 60 Assembling the battery pack

61. 61 Assembling the battery pack

62. 62 Battery Pack Schematic

63. 63 Done! Using the IBT

64. 64 The Sun emits radio waves!

65. 65 The Sun emits radio waves!

66. 66 You emit radio waves! Play “cheapsigmeter2.wav

67. 67 Geostationary satellites ( Can you find 0° dec?)

68. 68 Trees (the ground, buildings, anything with a temperature) emit radio waves! Play channel.wav

69. 69 Questions? sheather@nrao.edu sheather@nrao.edu