Giant Mexican {radio} telescope launched {not into space} (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

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The telescope's antenna has a diameter of 50m (164ft) and is the largest of its kind in the world.

"This telescope will allow us to make fundamental discoveries about the formation and evolution of galaxies, about the formation and evolution of stars, and about the origin of the Universe itself," National Astrophysics Institute Director Jose Guichard said during the inauguration.

Scientists say it is the most important scientific and technological project in the country's history.

The Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), which cost $120m, was partly funded by the US. As its name suggests, it will be sensitive to electromagnetic radiation at millimetric wavelengths - about 0.85mm to 4mm.

This will give it the ability to see through the dust in the interstellar medium that obscures the view of many other astronomical facilities.
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(a little) more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6175446.stm

[lapfog_1]

1. Why is this a different class of radio telescope than the

305 meter diameter arecibo telescope? The wavelengths of the radiation reflected?

[thereismore]

2. maybe this one isn't fixed like Arecibo. nt

[Bill McBlueState]

4. yes, the wavelengths detected

The LMT will detect radiation that, while still in a sense part of the radio spectrum, is about 100 times more energetic than what Arecibo detects. It's much more of a technological challenge to do this, which isn't surprising since Arecibo is getting pretty old.

[Tesha]

6. Aricebo's reflector isn't sufficiently accurate...

> Why is this a different class of radio telescope than the
> 305 meter diameter arecibo telescope? The wavelengths of
> the radiation reflected?

Aricebo's reflector isn't sufficiently accurate (~flat)
to allow it to focus millimetre-wavelength radio waves.

Tesha

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. large milimeters? I thought they were all pretty much the same size.

of course, technology like this just sets christian creation cretins off. How dare we peer into the early stages of the universe? perhaps even contact with alien life? I wonder if the US would have even considered investing in something like this a year ago? or two or three? If the reichous religionists of the Republic Party can stop something as useful as stem cell research, then I doubt we could have supported anything like this.

[Canuckistanian]

5. They're talking about wavelengths

As the wavelength gets longer, the frequency goes down. 300GHz has a wavelength of 1 mm.

By contrast, an FM radio signal (100.5 as an example) has a wavelenth of 3m, or about 10 ft.