Tag: Green Bank

Astronomers At W.Va. Telescope Discover Largest Neutron Star In Universe

Astronomers using the Green Bank Telescope in Pocahontas County have discovered a massive neutron star. Scientists believe this is the largest neutron star ever discovered. 

Neutron stars, sometimes called pulsars, are the compressed remains of stars that have exploded into a supernova. Supernovas occur when stars reach the end of their life and explode into a powerful burst of light and energy. 

Neutron stars are one of the most dense objects in the universe, second only to black holes. But little else is known about the interior of one of these stars. Just a single sugar-cube worth of neutron star material would weigh 100 million tons on earth. That’s about the same as the entire human population. 

The recently discovered star is about 4,600 light years from earth. According to a press release from the Green Bank Observatory, this neutron star approaches “the limits of how massive and compact a single object can become without crushing itself down into a black hole.” 

Astronomers at the W.Va. telescope plan to continue studying this particular neutron star, and what it might reveal about the nature of spacetime.

Green Bank Observatory to Continue Operations

West Virginia’s Green Bank Observatory will continue operating under the National Science Foundation.

Green Bank Observatory Director Karen O’Neil announced the foundation’s decision in a statement Tuesday, July 30.

The foundation had been evaluating options for the observatory, ranging from collaboration with outside partners to continue its science and education mission to demolishing it.

The foundation, which in 2012 provided 95 percent of its funding, has been reducing its financial support. Associated Universities Inc. has operated the observatory since 2016.

O’Neil says the foundation acknowledged the observatory’s high scientific value. She says the focus will be to ensure the facility remains competitive, produces high quality science and maximizes access by the U.S. astronomy community.

The observatory includes a 100-meter diameter radio telescope, astronomy and astrophysics instrumentation, office and laboratory buildings, a visitor and education facility and lodging facilities for visiting scientists.

Dozens Argue for Future of Observatory in West Virginia

The National Science Foundation heard public comments as part of a process to consider changes to the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia.

The Register-Herald reports nearly 50 people outlined their reasoning Thursday for why the Pocahontas County facility should stay in operation as it is.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement highlights five possibilities for the facility. They range from the foundation seeking collaboration with interested parties that would share costs, to demolition of the site. The foundation’s representatives named the collaboration option as its preferred alternative, but said all avenues must be explored.

A statement from U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin highlighted the scientific accomplishments of the observatory. U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito’s statement emphasized its impact on the community.

The study of public comments will be completed in January.

Hundreds Show Support for Green Bank Observatory at NSF Meetings

Hundreds of individuals attended two public meetings held by the National Science Foundation at Green Bank Observatory. The NSF is considering operational changes for the observatory in light of budget constraints, including potentially shutting down the facility completely. 

Members of the public included everyone from  students from West Virginia University to residents of Pocahontas County. One by one they went to the podium and urged the NSF to avoid shutting down the facility comletely, citing the observatory’s importance to the local economy and community as well as to research and education. 

“This is everybody’s money, and we’re known worldwide because of this telescope,” Buster Varner, the fire chief at Bartow-Frank-Durbin Volunteer Fire Department, told representatives of the NSF at the meeting. “I think you’re barking up the wrong tree. You need to look at something else to shut down. Because if this facility went out of there, this will be a ghost town.” 

The NSF is considering divesting from various facilities around the country in order to allocate money for facilities that can do newer, cutting-edge research. 

“There are difficult things the National Science Foundation has to do,” Edward Ahjar, an astronomist at the NSF who attended the meeting. “All of our facilities do great science, and that’s why we fund them. But when we start to have less and less money to spread around, then we have to prioritize them – which are doing the most important science now, and which are lower ranked.” 

A final decision will be made by the end of next year. 

Public Comment Open November 9th on What's Next for Green Bank

West Virginia’s congressional delegation provided information Thursday on how the public can weigh in on the future of the Green Bank Observatory radio telescope in Pocahontas County.

The National Science Foundation will hold two public meetings on November 9th and accept written public comments until November 25th. The National Science Foundation is conducting a review of the observatory because of budget constraints.

The NSF is proposing different alternatives for the future of the facility that the public can comment on. Among those alternatives is collaborating with other parties in science and education so Green Bank can reduce its funding from the NSF.

Senator Joe Manchin said he hopes citizens turn out for the public meetings because of what the observatory means to the state.

“Our state takes enormous pride in the awe-inspiring scientific research performed at the observatory and I am doing everything in my power to protect and preserve the observatory for future generations,” Manchin said.

The NSF has also proposed mothballing of facilities or even deconstruction of the site. According to state officials, the roughly $8M that the NSF invests in the observatory generates nearly $30 million every year for the local economy.

Senator Shelley Moore Capito said she’s been fighting for a while to make sure Green Bank gets the funding it needs. 

” I’ve been proud to support Green Bank Observatory and astronomy research through my position on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and I hope all West Virginians will join me in fighting for its future by attending a public meeting and submitting written comments,” Moore Capito said.

The public meetings November 9th will be at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., both at the Green Bank Science Center, in Pocahontas County.

Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope Dedicated: August 25, 2000

On August 25, 2000, the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope was dedicated at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Pocahontas County. At 16-million pounds, it’s the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope.

Its accuracy is so precise it’s like seeing the width of a human hair from six feet away. The telescope’s 2,004 panels are mounted on actuators, little motor-driven pistons that adjust the shape of the surface.

The telescope replaced an earlier 300-foot meridian transit telescope that operated from 1961 until collapsing in 1988.

Green Bank—located in a beautiful pastoral setting—was chosen to host the National Radio Astronomy Observatory because of its low population, lack of industrial development, and surrounding mountains, which shield it from radio interference. The observatory opened in 1959. The next year, noted astronomer Frank Drake launched the NASA Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, or SETI, at Green Bank.

In January 2016, a new project was started to search nearby stars for radio emissions that might indicate intelligent life. This 10-year, $100 million initiative is led by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner and cosmologist Stephen Hawking.

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