Haystack Observatory
| Organization | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | ||||
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| Location | Westford, Massachusetts | ||||
| Coordinates | 42°37′24″N 71°29′18″W / 42.6233°N 71.4882°WCoordinates: 42°37′24″N 71°29′18″W / 42.6233°N 71.4882°W | ||||
| Altitude | 131 meters (430 ft) | ||||
| Established | 1960 | ||||
| Website | www |
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| Haystack Radio Telescope | 37 m dish antenna |
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| Westford Radio Telescope | 18.3 m dish antenna |
Haystack Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is located in Westford, Massachusetts (USA), approximately 45 kilometers (28 mi) northwest of Boston. Haystack was initially built by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory for the United States Air Force and was known as Haystack Microwave Research Facility. Construction began in 1960, and the antenna began operating in 1964. In 1970 the facility was transferred to MIT, which then formed the Northeast Radio Observatory Corporation (NEROC) with a number of other universities to operate the site as the Haystack Observatory. As of January 2012[update], a total of nine institutions participated in NEROC.
The Haystack Observatory site is also the location of the Millstone Hill Observatory, an atmospheric sciences research center. Lincoln Laboratory continues to use the site, which it calls the Lincoln Space Surveillance Complex (LSSC). The George R. Wallace Astrophysical Observatory of MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences is located south of the Haystack dome and east of the Westford dome. The Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston has its clubhouse on the MIT property.
Haystack Vallis on Mercury is named after this observatory.
The 37 m (121 ft) Haystack Radio Telescope is a parabolic antenna protected by a 46 m (151 ft) metal-frame radome. It is known as the Haystack Long-Range Imaging Radar (LRIR) or Haystack Ultrawideband Satellite Imaging Radar (HUSIR) when used for the LSSC. It was constructed for use in space tracking and communication, but now is used primarily for astronomy. It was completed in 1964 and originally observed at 8 GHz on the radio spectrum. Since then it has been upgraded to listen to other frequency bands, though not simultaneously. When used for radar it broadcasts and listens in bands at either 10 GHz or 95 GHz. The main dish was upgraded in 2006, which allowed operation at frequencies up to 150 GHz. The secondary reflector of the Cassegrain design features an active surface.
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