Keeping an eye on the stars for navigation purposes is an old Navy custom. Last week the Navy announced that it has nearly completed a radio telescope to watch stars in another way. The reflector, an aluminum "dish" 50 feet in diameter and weighing 14 tons, is supported by a mounting made for a 5-in. gun. It will watch the sky from the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington.
The apparatus is designed to detect radiation from outer space in three wave lengths: 3, 10, and 30 centimeters. All these penetrate the atmosphere, which is opaque to all other waves except those in...
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