Earth space sciences dept. installs radio-wave telescope
By Dan Friend
Managing Editor
A new radio-wave telescope mounted on the roof of Lilly Science Hall will enable University of Indianapolis students to detect celestial bodies 500,000,000 light-years from the earth.
Dr. Steve Spicklemire, associate professor of physics and earth space sciences, said that he plans for the telescope to be operational late this semester. In the past, students used the radio telescope to apply lessons from physics and earth space science courses to gain a basic understanding of radio astronomy, he said.
Although the telescope is undersized for extensive research, Spicklemire said it gives students who are interested in astronomy an alternate way to look into space because the human eye and the school’s optical telescope cannot perceive radio waves.
Many extraterrestrial bodies, such as black holes and stars, emit energy in the form of radio waves, and an accurately aimed radio telescope will receive the waves when the earth-based radio telescope and the outer-space body align, according to “The Basics of Radio Astronomy,” prepared by Diane Fisher-Miller.
“Basically, you point [the radio telescope] at something in space and use the [earth’s rotation] to sweep the sky in a single line,” Spicklemire said.
The solid, 16-foot diameter dish replaced the earth space sciences department’s previous mesh-wire dish, which was damaged by hail in the spring of 2006. The school’s main insurance provider, The Hartford, covered the damages, and the new dish was installed at the end of last semester.
According to Vice President of Business and Finance and University Treasurer Mike Braughton, the claim for the new dish is currently $59,775. Braughton said that the new, solid dish should withstand poor weather conditions better, which is a main reason why the insurance company chose to fund the sturdier, more expensive replacement.
The University of Indianapolis received its first radio telescope in 1998 when Malcolm Mallette, a retired business litigation lawyer and amateur radio astronomer, donated half of the funding necessary to purchase the original telescope.
“I was interested in radio astronomy,” Mallette said. “But my wife didn’t think it was a good idea to have a 16-foot dish in the front yard.”
Mallette said the university accepted his proposal and provided the site for the dish on the rooftop of Lilly Science Hall, and students and faculty from the earth space sciences department developed computer programming to analyze the data collected by the telescope. The school matched his $3,000 donation and the university took its first step in radio astronomy in March of 1998, when it recorded radio waves from Cygnus A, one of the brightest stars in the Cygnus radio galaxy, from a half billion light-years away.
According to Spicklemire, the deal has worked well for both parties.
“He [Mallette] is driving the bus on this thing,” Spicklemire said. “If it weren’t for him, it would be hard to maintain this project.”
Any students who are interested in studying radio astronomy should contact Spicklemire at spicklemire@uindy.edu.
