The highest resolution photos of the Moon ever taken from Earth have been captured by researchers at Green Bank Observatory (GBO) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in the United States. To achieve this feat, the experts used a radar less powerful than a microwave oven. The images were presented at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), on January 10.
According to Patrick Taylor, head of the radar division of the GBO and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the researchers used the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), considered the largest steerable radio telescope in the world. The device is 100 meters in diameter.
How Radar Was Used to Produce Pictures of the Moon
To capture the images, the researchers emitted a beam of radio waves from the GBT. The purpose was to light the moon. Four 25-metre-wide radio telescopes captured the echo of the radio waves.
The transmission was only 700 watts of power, less than that of a household microwave and “comparable to a household appliance or a bunch of light bulbs”. Even so, it was able to record the Apollo 15 landing site.
According to Taylor, the researchers also used the equipment to capture data from an asteroid about 1 kilometer in diameter. The instrument was able to capture its size, speed, rotation and composition, as well as showing how light scatters from its surface. “All this with something less powerful than a microwave,” Taylor said.
Read more: “A drink on the moon”article by Dagomir Marquezi published in Issue 33 of Revista Oeste
