March 2017
To give it it’s full name “The Australia Telescope Compact Array”(ATCA), at the Paul Wild Observatory, is an array of six 22-m antennas used for radio astronomy. It is mid way between Narrabri and Wee Waa and a few kms to the South.
The telescope is an array of six identical 22-metre (72 ft) diameter dishes, which commonly operate in aperture synthesis mode to produce radio images. Five of the dishes can be moved along a three-kilometre (2 mi) railway track. The sixth antenna is situated three kilometres west of the end of the main track. Each dish weighs about 270 tonnes (270 long tons; 300 short tons).
We will let the images tell most of the story but briefly the visitor centre has outdoor and indoor exhibits which provide a host of information as well as an AV presentation about the work done here.
