MINI 115GHz Radio-Telescope

The relocation from Cerro Tololo Observatory to Cerro Calán and an upgrade to the receiver of the MINI radio-telescope is another activity of RAIG. MINI was installed in Cerro Tololo in 1982. A twin MINI telescope is on the roof of -Building D- at the Harvard College Observatory. Together, these two instruments have obtained what is by far the most extensive, uniform, and widely-used Galactic survey of interstellar carbon monoxide (CO), the best general tracer of the largely invisible molecular hydrogen that constitutes most of the mass in molecular clouds. In 2005, the receiver was moved to the Millimeter Wave Laboratory of Cerro Calán to upgrade the Front End and the LO. The 1.2m dish, the dome and the spectrographs were moved in mid-2009 and installed in a new building in mid-2010. First light was obtained on Nov 18, 2010. Regular observations with MINI will start soon. We plan astronomy students to get hands on experience with radio telescopes and electrical engineers to develop technological research. For example, the development of a new digital backend for MINI and the upgrade from DSB to SSB receiver.

More Info:
Summary (English): upgradeMINI.pdf
Thesis works (Spanish): Info_Nico.pdf, Info_Walter.pdf
Instalación y puesta en marcha del Radiotelescopio MINI (Memoria Pablo Vásquez)