Step 1 · Telescopes
Three telescopes: two fixed, one moving
Two historical fixed stations established the observational foundation of the project. The PSU moving telescope, DISH222, is the active research telescope today.
Fixed telescopes
PSU Fixed Telescope
The historical fixed 5 m reflector and the project's main learning entry point to drift-scan observing.
Data archive: Live explorer Explore telescope Historical fixed stationPNU Fixed Telescope
The historical fixed 5 m zenith-pointing telescope at PNU, documented in a 2025 Radio Science paper.
Data archive: Awaiting ingestion Explore telescopeMoving / rotating telescope
Why we moved
Why we moved to a steerable telescope
- Fixed telescopesPSU + PNU
- Experience and limits of fixed drift-scan observingWhat we learned
- PSU moving telescopeDISH222
- Active research platformToday
The fixed telescopes are 5 m reflectors pointing straight up. As the Earth turns, a strip of sky at the station's declination drifts through the beam, so each fixed telescope maps one band of sky per day. The design is simple and robust, and it was published in IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine (2025).
But a fixed telescope cannot choose where to look, repeat an observation on demand, or point at a calibration source. To map chosen regions of the Galactic plane, the project moved to a motorised dish that steers in azimuth and elevation: DISH222, now the active research telescope.