Historical Plaque

The world's first parabolic radio telescope.

Grote Reber was a pretty interesting man. For about ten years, he was the only radio astronomer in the world.

This is the telescope that he built in the backyard of his mother's house. It could tilt, but not pan.

Reber sold his telescope to the Bureau of Standards in the late `40s, where it was made fully-steerable. Eventually, it was donated as a historical artifact to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, WV.

Photos