Visiting
Preparing for a Trip to a Radio Observatory
Haystack Observatory offers tours to middle school and high school teachers and students throughout the year. Each tour consists of a short lecture on radio astronomy or atmospheric science by one of Haystacks research scientists, followed by a tour of the 37-meter telescope. Total time is approximately one hour. To arrange a trip to the Observatory contact Susan Davis 617-715.5400.
On a field trip to a radio observatory, students will see an impressive array of technology in a short amount of time. You can prepare them to better understand what they will see and hear by introducing some concepts in class ahead of time. In particular, the more students understand about the electromagnetic spectrum and the behavior of electromagnetic waves, the more they will get out of a trip to an observatory.
For more specific preparation on radio astronomy, a tutorial on the subject is available here.
Some hands on activities to prepare a class for a trip to a radio observatory are also available.
Beamwidth of the eye is an activity that helps explain why radio telescopes are so large, and how resolution (beamwidth) affects observations.
Azimuth and Elevation is an activity that helps students understand how the radio telescope is pointed, and how objects move across the sky as the earth rotates.
617.715.5400 
