Some of the greatest images of the moon have been acquired with a radar device little more powerful than a microwave oven
The highest resolution images of the Moon ever captured from Earth have been released. Researchers presented the images at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Settle on January 10.
The Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, USA, captured the images, which include Tycho crater. The device, which is the world’s largest steerable radio telescope, is designed to target different parts of the sky.
Patrick Taylor, head of the 100-meter diameter telescope’s radar department, said they sent radio waves to the moon and captured the data with the Very Long Baseline Array radio telescope in Hawaii. Tycho crater was imaged at a resolution of 5 meters.
Taylor said the Green Bank Telescope consumed only 700 watts of power in the process, which could compete with a household appliance or a few light bulbs.
Researchers aim to transmit at 500 kilowatts, about 700 times the power of the Green Bank Telescope. The plan is to obtain clearer images.
Taylor said radars are crucial for astronomers who want to determine the trajectory of an asteroid to see if it threatens Earth:
With the high-powered system, we can look much farther away and at more objects. It is probably vital to have more warning time in developing strategies for collisions.
