The Taunton Radio Astronomy Observatory was based at Taunton
School, Somerset, UK from June 1988 to July 2004. The research project
began in June 1988 when a group of sixth formers studying GCSE
Astronomy at the school were required to carry out astronomical
observations as part of their course. Having chosen to observe
sunspots, their efforts were brought to a halt by an influx of
cloudy weather. One of the students, Matthew Lang (now a physics teacher),
suggested that
the team build a radio telescope as radio waves from the
sky are not affected by clouds.......
Chronology
June 1988: TRAO students, Somerset, UK suggested studying radio waves from the sun.
March 1989: An 8-metre chicken wire dish constructed and used to observe radio waves
from a massive solar flare at 151MHz.
February 1991: Two group of 4-yagi arrays used as a drift interferometer
at 151MHz to observe the Milky Way and the quiet Sun.
March 1993: Cassiopeia A and Cygnus A Two group of 4-yagi arrays used as a drift interferometer
at 151MHz to observe Cassiopeia A and Cygnus A.
April 1993: Quiet Sun observed using two Paraclispe 4-metre dishes
spaced 17 metres apart operating as a 1420 MHz phase switched interferometer.
August 1993: Orion Nebula, full Moon, and many deep sky objects observed using
the 1420MHz interferometer.
November 1993: Radio Astronomy at Taunton School reviewed in a dedicated
20 minute programme on BBC1 "Sky at Night" with Dr Patrick Moore.
April 1994: Galactic hydrogen line profiling system on-line at 1420MHz
using a 2 GHz ICOM scanning reciver and a 4-metre dish.
July 1994: Comet collision with Jupiter observed at 20.4MHz with
two large Yagi aerials forming a 200 metre base line phase switched interferometer.
TRAO featured nationally/internationally in press and on TV.
November 1994: Andromeda Galaxy and quasar 3C273 observed at 1420MHz.
March 1995: TRAO students (Christopher Mead and Matthew Taylor) win
major prize at British Association Science Fair held at Imperial
College, London.
September 1995: TRAO students (Chris Mead and Matthew Taylor)
win first prize at European Union Contest for Young Scientists.
Asked to go on to represent the EU at the International Science
and Engineering Fair (ISEF) to be held in Tucson, Arizona in May
1996.
October 1995: TRAO Web page comes on-line. Work in progress to
construct fully steerable parabolic dish with data output
to Internet. The idea of AMORA conceived.
October 1995: Funding sought to build AMORA, A Mobile Observatory for Radio Astronomy.
June 1997: TRAO wins the Millennium Satellite Centre Limited competition with its
design of a scanning receiver for 100kHz to 10 MHz. Project to go on board the
Millennium Educational Satellite in 2001.
September 1997: TRAO provides Taunton School with a 12 station network linked to its Internet Service Provider
by a 2.4 GHz microwave link. The first school in the UK to achieve such a link.
August 1999: TRAO arranges for 65 people to view the total solar eclipse from Torquay and Plymouth.
The eclipse of the solar corona observed using the 22 metre base line 151 MHz phase swtiched interferometer.
April 1998; TRAO students (Alison Wiley et al) are finalists in national Royal Society
science fair in education and industry with design of a composite parabolic dish antenna system.
April 1999: TRAO students (Owen Jones et al) won the national Royal Society
science fair in education and industry with an original technique for providing
radio communications in a tunnelling environment.
TRAO happily shifts to Bedfordshire, July 2004. A NEW MILLENNIUM, A NEW START!
