Hat Creek Observatory

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Hat Creek Observatory
Home of the BIMA (Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Association) array

The BIMA array consists of 10 antennas functional at 3mm observing frequency. 9 antennas have 1mm receivers. In June 2004, the decommissioning of the BIMA array began. The telescopes will be disassembled and shipped to a new sight called Cedar Flat in the Inyo Mountains of Southern California. There they will be reassembled to form part of the CARMA (Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy) array.

Homer, one of the 4 dogs who live on site.

Mts. Burney and Shasta at sunset. Mt. Burney is just west of the site, while Shasta lies to the north. One of the antennas of the new Allen Telescope Array (ATA) can be seen in the foreground of Mt. Shasta.

One of the lizards who lives under the air conditioner.

While it looks like giant gophers have taken over the site, in fact this is just trenching for the fiber for the new ATA array which is under construction. There's no going back now! The last step off Antenna 7 is a biggie!

Last shot of the BIMA array with all 10 antennas. Antenna 4 (second from left), which has been behaving badly, is about to get a "time out".

The transport is positioned under Antenna 4. The tractor is used to move the antenna out of the existing array. This is tricky since some maneouvering is required to get it away from the rest of the array since it can only be driven on the concrete T. Homer supervises everything from under the shade of Antenna 6.

Antenna 4 in exile at the north end of the T (notice Homer has quickly found the new shade). The rest of the array carries on observing. The entire process of removing Antenna 4 and getting back on the air took 1 hr, 5 minutes.

Views of the valley from the eastern ridge. Left is the Bidwell Ranch. The central image shows the Observatory, with some of the BIMA dishes visible. Mt. Lassen from Route 89 is shown at the right.

Here are some movies (avi files) of the extraction of Antenna 4.

1 2 3

last updated: 3 June 2004

Back to Astro Photos
Hat Creek Observatory Home of the BIMA (Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Association) array
The BIMA array consists of 10 antennas functional at 3mm observing frequency. 9 antennas have 1mm receivers. In June 2004, the decommissioning of the BIMA array began. The telescopes will be disassembled and shipped to a new sight called Cedar Flat in the Inyo Mountains of Southern California. There they will be reassembled to form part of the CARMA (Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy) array.
Homer, one of the 4 dogs who live on site.
Mts. Burney and Shasta at sunset. Mt. Burney is just west of the site, while Shasta lies to the north. One of the antennas of the new Allen Telescope Array (ATA) can be seen in the foreground of Mt. Shasta.
One of the lizards who lives under the air conditioner.
While it looks like giant gophers have taken over the site, in fact this is just trenching for the fiber for the new ATA array which is under construction. There's no going back now! The last step off Antenna 7 is a biggie!
Last shot of the BIMA array with all 10 antennas. Antenna 4 (second from left), which has been behaving badly, is about to get a "time out".
The transport is positioned under Antenna 4. The tractor is used to move the antenna out of the existing array. This is tricky since some maneouvering is required to get it away from the rest of the array since it can only be driven on the concrete T. Homer supervises everything from under the shade of Antenna 6.
Antenna 4 in exile at the north end of the T (notice Homer has quickly found the new shade). The rest of the array carries on observing. The entire process of removing Antenna 4 and getting back on the air took 1 hr, 5 minutes.
Views of the valley from the eastern ridge. Left is the Bidwell Ranch. The central image shows the Observatory, with some of the BIMA dishes visible. Mt. Lassen from Route 89 is shown at the right.
Here are some movies (avi files) of the extraction of Antenna 4. 1 2 3