Images Dated 30th January 1998

Cosmic microwave telescope, Owens Valley, Calif

Cosmic microwave telescope. Time-lapse view at early morning of the moving dish antenna of a radio telescope at Owens Valley in California, USA. Star trails are seen in the sky. This cosmic microwave telescope has a dish with a diameter of 40 metres (130 feet). Microwaves are radio waves with wavelengths between about 1 millimetre and 1 metre. The cosmic microwave telescope is one of a number of types of radio telescope at Owens Valley station. Owens Valley also has a 25 metre diameter radio telescope which forms part of the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) network. This network consists of ten VLBA stations which together act like a giant telescope

© DAVID NUNUK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY