Observing Facilities
MIT Haystack Observatory's primary research facilities located at in Westford, MA, include a set of large radio antennas used for radio astronomy, geodetic VLBI, and ionospheric radar measurements.
- Astronomical observations are conducted using the Haystack 37-m diameter antenna operating at 20-25 GHz, 35-50 GHz, and 85-115 GHz.
- VLBI measurements are made as part of the geodetic network using the 18-m Westford antenna operating at 2.8 and 8.4 GHz.
- Ionospheric radar measurements are made at 440 MHz using a 2.5 MWatt transmitter and two antennas - a zenith pointing 67-m antenna and a 46-m steerable antenna.
In addition, three other important facilities are part of the Haystack Observatory, namely
- A radio array telescope consisting of 24-stations each equipped with 24 dipole antennas and a receiver tuned to 327.4 MHz is used for observations of the deuterium line.
- A VLBI correlator - the Mark 4 system is used to process astronomical and geodetic observations from VLBI experiments both through recorded data and in real-time.
- An atmospheric optics facility consisting of Fabry-Perot interferometers provides measurements of winds in the Earth's upper atmosphere.
The Haystack Observatory also provides access to its research facilities for educational projects and operates a set of small radio telescopes and interferometers for undergraduate and pre-college research experiences. The Observatory also hosts instrumentation from collaborating institutions such as a digital ionospheric sounder (digisonde) from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and an all-sky camera from Boston University.
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