{"id":22514,"date":"2016-11-30T10:31:33","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T14:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=22514"},"modified":"2016-11-30T10:31:33","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T14:31:33","slug":"will-green-bank-soon-become-a-little-less-radio-quiet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/will-green-bank-soon-become-a-little-less-radio-quiet\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Green Bank soon become a little less radio quiet?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GreenBankTelescope\"<\/a>(Source: BBC News<\/a> via Richard Langley)<\/p>\n

\n

Disturbing the peace: Can America\u2019s quietest town be saved?<\/h3>\n

There’s a town in West Virginia where there are tight restrictions on mobile signal, wifi and other parts of what most of us know as simply: modern life. It means Green Bank is a place unlike anywhere else in the world. But that could be set to change.<\/p>\n

“Do you ever sit awake at night and wonder, what if?” I asked.<\/p>\n

Mike Holstine’s eyes twinkled like the stars he had spent his life’s work observing.<\/p>\n

“The universe is so huge,” he began.<\/p>\n

“On the off chance we do get that hugely lucky signal, when we look in the right place, at the right frequency. When we get that\u2026 can you imagine what that’s going to do to humankind?”<\/p>\n

Holstine is business manager at the Green Bank Observatory, the centrepiece of which is the colossal Green Bank Telescope. On a foggy Tuesday morning, I’m standing in the middle of it, looking up, feeling small.<\/p>\n

Though the GBT has many research tasks, the one everyone talks about is the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. The GBT listens out for signs of communication or activity by species that are not from Earth.<\/p>\n

[…]Green Bank sits at the heart of the National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000 square mile (33,669 sq km) area where certain types of transmissions are restricted so as not to create interference to the variety of instruments set up in the hills – as well as the Green Bank Observatory, there is also Sugar Grove, a US intelligence agency outpost.<\/p>\n

For those in the immediate vicinity of the GBT, the rules are more strict. Your mobile phone is useless here, you will not get a TV signal and you can’t have strong wi-fi? -?though they admit this is a losing battle. Modern life is winning, gradually. And newer wi-fi standards do not interfere with the same frequencies as before.[…]<\/p>\n

Read the full article on the BBC News website<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Additionally, if you have access to the BBC iPlayer, click here to watch the Click episode featuring Green Bank<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Source: BBC News via Richard Langley) Disturbing the peace: Can America\u2019s quietest town be saved? There’s a town in West Virginia where there are tight restrictions on mobile signal, wifi and other parts of what most of us know as simply: modern life. It means Green Bank is a place unlike anywhere else in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[104,584,3318,3843,3319,579,581,3516],"class_list":["post-22514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-bbc","tag-green-bank-telescope","tag-green-bank-wv","tag-national-radio-astronomy-obeservatory","tag-national-radio-quiet-zone","tag-nrao","tag-radio-astronomy","tag-richard-langley"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-5R8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13312,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/national-radio-quiet-zone-featured-in-bbc-radio-4-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":22514,"position":0},"title":"National Radio Quiet Zone featured in BBC Radio 4 series","author":"Thomas","date":"May 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader,\u00a0David Freeborough, who shares this brilliant, in-depth radio documentary featured on the BBC News and BBC Radio 4. This BBC News Magazine article introduces the documentary: \"Anyone driving west from Washington DC towards the Allegheny Mountains will arrive before long in a vast area without\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"GreenBankTelescope","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/GreenBankTelescope.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/GreenBankTelescope.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/GreenBankTelescope.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/GreenBankTelescope.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23402,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/arecibo-legendary-radio-telescope-hangs-in-the-balance\/","url_meta":{"origin":22514,"position":1},"title":"Arecibo: Legendary radio telescope hangs in the balance","author":"Thomas","date":"January 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares the following story from Nature: \"Some of the observatories targeted in the review have found potential partners: New Mexico State University in Las Cruces is leading an effort to take over the Dunn Solar Telescope in Sunspot, New Mexico. Others\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Arecibo_Observatory_Aerial_View-e1484486432239.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Arecibo_Observatory_Aerial_View-e1484486432239.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Arecibo_Observatory_Aerial_View-e1484486432239.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Arecibo_Observatory_Aerial_View-e1484486432239.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11102,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/living-in-a-national-radio-quiet-zone\/","url_meta":{"origin":22514,"position":2},"title":"Living in a National Radio Quiet Zone","author":"Thomas","date":"October 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Paul, who shares this National Geographic video about Green Bank, West Virginia, USA--home of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO): My wife and I took a camping trip to\u00a0Green Bank in the late 1990s when the massive Green Bank Telescope was about 80% complete.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Green Bank Telescope: An impressive parabolic dish covering 2.3 acres, the GBT has the largest collecting area of any fully-steerable telescope in the world. (Photo: R. Creager, NRAO\/AUI\/NSF)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Creager_large.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Creager_large.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Creager_large.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29637,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/listening-to-oumuamua-via-the-green-bank-telescope\/","url_meta":{"origin":22514,"position":3},"title":"Listening to Oumuamua via the Green Bank Telescope","author":"Thomas","date":"December 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Ferruccio Manfieri, who writes: I bother you to mention this uncommon radio listening project i've just found via The Guardian: Green Bank telescope in West Virginia will listen for radio signals from \u2018Oumuamua, an object from another solar system Astronomers are to use one of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/GreenBankTelescope.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/GreenBankTelescope.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/GreenBankTelescope.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/GreenBankTelescope.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58884,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/bbc-do-we-still-need-the-pips\/","url_meta":{"origin":22514,"position":4},"title":"BBC: “Do We Still Need the Pips?”","author":"Thomas","date":"February 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares the following piece which recently aired on BBC Radio 4 (click link below to listen): To mark the centenary of the Greenwich Time Signal on the BBC, Paddy O'Connell asks the unaskable - Do We Still Need the Pips? First\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/BBC-Pips.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/BBC-Pips.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/BBC-Pips.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33875,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/wired-the-ngvla-and-rebirth-of-radio-astronomy\/","url_meta":{"origin":22514,"position":5},"title":"Wired: The ngVLA and “Rebirth of Radio Astronomy”","author":"Thomas","date":"August 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: WIRED) IN THE EARLY 1930s, Bell Labs was experimenting with making wireless transatlantic calls. The communications goliath wanted to understand the static that might crackle across the ocean, so it asked an engineer named Karl Jansky to investigate its sources. He found three: nearby thunderstorms, distant thunderstorms, and a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/VLA-NRAO-Radio-AStronomy-Radio-Telescopes-e1535625929561.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/VLA-NRAO-Radio-AStronomy-Radio-Telescopes-e1535625929561.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/VLA-NRAO-Radio-AStronomy-Radio-Telescopes-e1535625929561.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22514\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}