Australia's Astronomer

Nov 10, 2024 | australiangeographic.com.au | Fred Watson |Australia's Astronomer

Back in the 1970s, a concentrated effort in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) was well underway at the Big Ear radio telescope in Delaware, USA. More formally known as the Ohio State University Radio Observatory, this unusual telescope looked more like a sports arena than a conventional steerable dish. Nevertheless, between 1965 and 1971, it produced the most complete map of the radio sky yet attempted.