Brian Goes to the Woods!

Here is a link to a bunch of pictures that I took over the weekend up in the Mountains of eastern West Virginia. For those of you that know the area you'll know these pictures as soon as you see them, for those of you not familiar with the area many are captioned for you but if you have any questions about them don't hesitate to ask!

Some things of note though. This was my first trip to Green Bank and it was REALLY interesting. Green Bank is home to the largest radio telescope in the world and it can rotate 360 degrees which is even cooler. It is 350ft wide (which longer than a football field) and covers an area of 2.5 ACRES!!! The satelite is so sensitive that it can detect household electronics malfunctioning. The Observatory has a person who is in charge of FINDING the piece of household electronics and having it fixed even if it is in a private house. The maintenance man fixes microwaves, televisions, air conditioning units and even electric fences. The facility doesn't allow pictures of the telescope within about three miles of it as it will pick up the camera being turned on! Other points of note, the "radio quiet zone" encompasses a stunning 10,000 sq. miles. The NRAO has considerable pull in allowing television and radio stations in that area which includes Weston, Sugar Grove (VA) and Lewisburg! That is a LOT of geography!

Enjoy the pictures!

Brian Goes to The Woods