 The Allen Telescope Array (ATA-42), October 11, 2007. | |
| Alternative names | ATA  |
|---|---|
| Named after | Paul Allen |
| Part of | Hat Creek Radio Observatory |
| Location(s) | California, Pacific States Region |
| Coordinates | 40°49′04″N 121°28′24″W / 40.8178°N 121.4733°W / 40.8178; -121.4733 |
| Organization | Radio Astronomy Laboratory SETI Institute |
| Altitude | 986 m (3,235 ft) |
| Wavelength | 60, 2.7 cm (500, 11,100 MHz) |
| Telescope style | Gregorian telescope radio interferometer |
| Number of telescopes | 42 |
| Diameter | 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in) |
| Secondary diameter | 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Collecting area | 1,227 m2 (13,210 sq ft) |
| Website | www |
The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) was developed by the SETI Institute and the Radio Astronomy Laboratory (RAL) at the University of California, Berkeley to construct a radio interferometer that is dedicated to radio astronomy observations. At the same time, it is also used for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.[1][2]
The ATA is at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory, 290 miles (470 km) northeast of San Francisco, California. The goal is to have 350 antennas.[3] To start, 42 antennas (ATA-42) were put to work on 11 October 2007.[4][5] However, a lack of money stopped operations in April 2011.[6][7] In August 2011, ATA got short-term funding.[8] In 2012 UC Berkeley quit the project.
It is named after Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. Its old name was the One Hectare Telescope (1hT).
