Green Bank Planetary Radar System
Abstract
In this poster we present a radar capability for the 100 m Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) located at the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) which would be an excellent complementary system to existing planetary radars at the Arecibo and Goldstone Observatories, meeting growing community need for mono- and bi-static radar observations. The GBT site provides good natural shielding and is protected from radio frequency interference (RFI) inside the National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ). The telescope is fully steerable, giving full access to 85% of the celestial sphere from the site and tracking capabilities. The main focus of such an instrument would be planetary defense, namely asteroid tracking and classification. However, it would also be capable of planetary surface mapping, comet tracking, lost satellite detections, etc.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #235
- Pub Date:
- January 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AAS...23527705B