Parkes to move to remote operation amidst funding cuts - Sydney Morning Herald

[gary]

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/the-pulse-live/politics-live-june-2-2014-20140602-39cwd.html

[Pinwheel]

She an old dish you know, Built in 1961. would be cheaper to build a new array than continued re-modifications IMO.
Maybe the Pope told Tony "No more Science"!

[gary]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/budget-cuts-to-mean-the-parkes-radio-telescope-will-be-unmanned-csiro/story-fn59niix-1226939791678

[gary]

Hi Doug,

Parkes has undergone many upgrades over the decades, some parts
many times over, including the surfacing and size of the antenna itself,
the control system, receivers and so on.

It is testimony to how well engineered and built it was in the first place
that it can achieve 11 arcsecond RMS pointing accuracy in wind and that
its surface accuracy is within 1mm to 2mm of a best-fit parabola.

Impressive for a dish that weights 300 tonnes.

So whilst the basic structure has remained unchanged, as an instrument
it is said to be tens of thousands of times more sensitive than it was
in 1961 and is in use by about 300 researchers a year.

Half of the known pulsars have been discovered at Parkes.

[Pinwheel]

I know I've been there. I'm just saying she's old.
Anyway it's a tourist destination now and no matter how many sign are displayed people won't shut off mobile phones.
The money could go into newer & maybe a large array.
Parks, well shes had her day, 53 years old. She's 8 years older than the very first 747 test flight.

[gary]

Hi Doug,

One of its existing roles is that it forms part of the Long Baseline Array (LBA).

It is used in conjunction with the Compact Array at Narrabri along with
the dish at Mopra near Sidings Springs to create the Long Baseline.

Antennas at Ceduna and Hobart area added to the LBA to form the
VLBI array.

According to the announcement today, rather than being decommissioned,
Parkes is to operate largely remotely.

[Pinwheel]

I think you will see in time Parks research will slowly diminish. If the CSIRO was to pull the plug instantly, there would be public outrage. Parks is an icon, no doubt about it. However she is becoming obsolete & in time she will serve only as a tourist & education destination.

Also I didn't complete the last quote due to the phone ringing. Complete now.

[clive milne]

I say it is redundant to the extent that operation responsibilities should ideally be transferred to ASNSW to be used as they see fit.

[gary]

Hi Clive,

I believe the VLBI software correlators, including for 64m Parkes,
are provided in real-time by the Curtin University Supercomputer cluster
in Perth, so yourself and other ASWA club members would not have far to drive.

[raymo]

The state government has closed, [or is closing] our observatory in Perth,
for the enormous saving of approx. $300,000 a year. [2 jobs]. Now there is no tracking observatory between Adelaide and South Africa. It seems
that science is on the nose with our government. They could have saved hundreds of times that much if they hadn't built Barnet's pet project
called Elizabeth Quay. The waterfront needed something, but not that horror. Please ignore the last bit; I inadvertently hijacked your thread.
raymo

[clive milne]

Raymo, try not to be too hard on uncle Collin and brother Tony... it's not really their doing, they are just glove puppet salesmen in the grander scheme of things.

[clive milne]

Well, my comment was tongue in cheek... I don't imagine that this facility will be gifted to the public.

[rogerg]

Small correction - While research was unfortunately ended thanks to the mentioned budget cuts, the Perth Observatory (http://www.perthobservatory.wa.gov.au/) is very much open for business and expected to remain that way, you can keep up to date at their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PerthObservatory) with frequent posts each week. If you hear anyone say it is closed or such please correct them, we need everyone in WA to know we are still open and providing outreach. :)

[gary]

Hi Clive,

Ditto.

But in my case within my own cheek.

[mithrandir]

Didn't I hear that as part of the budget demolition of the CSIRO they are shutting down Mopra?

[raymo]

Hi Roger, As I understood it, the observatory's professional function was to cease, but it would still provide public viewing nights with portable
scopes. If that is incorrect I apologise. It's just what I read in the newspaper.
raymo

[rogerg]

The observatory remains open for public outreach. During summer (Oct - May) there are star viewing nights and full moon viewing nights, all year there are daytours (primarily school groups) and ramping up since about a year ago is their involvement in Skynet which will be expanding to include several telescopes and provide access to schools and such. They only take portable scopes out for specific events such as AstroFest at Curtuin University. There aren't many people employed there any more, but they are certainly there every day working on things such as the above. So, you're understanding was half right :)

Regards,
Roger.

[bert]

I have been lucky enough to work on the parkes radio telescope earlier this year, replacing a components related to the altitude mechanism.

They have been upgrading the detectors over time like gary has mentioned. I had a look at the 13 pixel (not megapixels) array with derotator assembly and the other single sensor array.

I was working there during a shutdown and there were multiple sets of contractors performing tasks to repair and upgrade the dish. The people who are predicting its demise in the short term are wrong. And it not really news as this plan for remote operation has been rolling out for some time.

The room I was working in is the ME room which controls the pointing and the large equatorial in that room has its history tied up with Barnes Wallace, the designer of the British bouncing bomb.

As for going completely remote: there will have to be some staff looking after her. The Csiro employee supervising us is the cryogenic technician, so it was interesting as he explained the components of prime focus. It was very cool.

[Blue Skies]

I think you'll find there is one - the 1m Zadko telescope at Gin Gin. It seems to be working away on a regular basis but you never hear about it, perhaps (and this is just speculation on my part) because the French have a strong stake in it. I believe the other main operator is UWA. I only know this from casual comments that have come my way this year through other astro circles that I move in.

[slowflow]

bret, great photos. Hope you info is good as it has been a great asset.

[pw]

Ha ha :-) I'm pretty sure that's how cryogenics is meant to be.

[Matt Wastell]

Ha!

[anthony.tony]

The Parkes Telescope Has been Operating Remotely for over a Year Now.Tony.