The Dish

As most will know that early in December Tim & I went on a short holiday, so I decided to kick of my Monday’s post with information about some the places we visited then.

Let’s start with the Parkes Observatory, which can be found on the outskirts of the town of Parkes in New South Wales, it is where “The Dish” is located.

If you are wondering what the dish is well it’s a 64-metre radio telescope, it was officially opened on 31/10/1961. The facility is managed by CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) and was constructed in collaboration with both Australian and international experts. Its 64-metre diameter radio telescope was, at the time, one of the largest and most advanced in the world.

The observatory is perhaps best known for its role in relaying television signals of the Apollo 11 moon landing to the world in July 1969. This historic event was dramatised in the popular Australian film “The Dish,” cementing Parkes’ place in space exploration history, back in 2000.

The telescope only receives signals from space and never sends them.

The observatory is open to the public and features a visitor center with interactive displays, a café, and the opportunity to view the dish up close. Educational programs and guided tours are available, making it a popular destination for school groups, science enthusiasts, and travellers passing through regional New South Wales.

Here are some statistics

Dish Diameter: 64 metres (210 feet)

Surface Accuracy: Maintained to within 1 millimetre (after upgrades)

Height: Approximately 55 metres from ground to top of the dish when vertical

Weight: The moving part of the telescope weighs about 1,000 tonnes

Frequency Range: 700 MHz to 26 GHz (after multiple upgrades)

Current Receivers: Multi-beam and single-pixel receivers for various radio frequencies