Ventspils Starptautiskais Radioastronomijas Centrs

Radio antenna RT-32.

Ventspils Starptautiskais Radioastronomijas Centrs (English:Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre – VIRAC) is an ex-Soviet radio astronomy installation 30 km north of Ventspils, Latvia, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. The installation was secret until 1993 when it was taken over by the Latvian Academy of Sciences after the withdrawal of the Soviet Army in 1994, after Latvia regained independence. Since then, the radio telescopes have been repaired.

Description

Established on 24 February 1996,[1] its current configuration consists of a 32-metre, fully steerable parabolic, centimetre-wave range antenna (RT-32) and a 16-metre diameter antenna (RT-16). The bigger one is the largest radio telescope in northern Europe and the world's eighth largest.[2] This combination of size and precision engineering makes the larger dish especially valuable to scientists. The structure was built by a naval factory in the Ukraine, and the interiors are reminiscent of a ship.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Eugenia Bulumac, Richard A. Bendis (2001). Utilizing Technology Transfer to Develop Small and Medium Enterprises, Vol. 27. IOS Press. p. 105. ISBN 1586031473.
  2. ↑ Stephen Baister, Chris Patrick (2007). Latvia. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 177. ISBN 184162201X.

External links

Coordinates: 57°33′29″N 21°51′28″E / 57.55806°N 21.85778°E