The Northern Cross radiotelescope

Aerial view of the Medicina Radio Observatory, near Bologna, Italy
Schematic diagram of the Northern Cross Radiotelescope

Summary

  • The Northern Cross radiotelescope receives a single linear polarization at 408 MHz.
  • The telescope parameters relevant to pulsar observations are indicated below:

    • E-W arm parameters:

  • A = 35 x 600 mē
  • G = 2.5 K/Jy
  • 6 antenna sections
  • HPHW = 4 arcmin (r.a.) x 1.8° (dec)
  • Deltat = 16/cos(delta) seconds

    • Recent E-W arm upgrade

  • New 12 GaAs FET preamplifiers close to the feed line:
    - Tsys = 120 K
    - Ssys = 45 Jy
  • 6 new 4 MHz-wide IF channels
  • 6 computer controlled IF phase shifters:
    - Source tracking within the single antenna-section primary beam
    - Deltat = 96/cos(delta) seconds

    • N-S arm parameters:

  • A = 64 x 7x24 mē
  • G = 1 K/Jy
  • 8 antenna sections
  • HPHW = 2° (r.a.) x 4 arcmin (dec)
  • Deltat = 8/cos(delta) minutes
  • Ssys = 150 Jy
    • Last Updated 17-Ago-1999