Metsähovi Radio Observatory

Metsähovi Radio Observatory, in Kirkkonummi, Finland, has scanned the radio sky since 1974 from a site about 35 kilometres west of Aalto University's Otaniemi campus.

About Metsähovi Radio Observatory

The observatory is affiliated with Aalto University and staffed by around 20 researchers, engineers and students drawn from the university and the Finnish Centre for Astronomy with the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Its main instrument is a 14-metre radio telescope, backed up by the Metsähovi Compact Array -- four 5.5-metre dishes working together as an interferometer -- along with several smaller radio telescopes and precise atomic clocks.

History

Metsähovi has been operational since 1974. Among its notable observations, the station recorded the near-total solar eclipse of 20 March 2015 at 11.2 and 37 GHz.

Telescopes & research

Research at Metsähovi covers radio observations at millimetre and microwave frequencies, with particular focus on variable quasars, active galaxies, solar radiation and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). The observatory is a member of the European VLBI Network, and its 14-metre telescope's coordinates are among the most accurately known in Finland.

Location & getting there

The main premises sit at Metsähovintie 114 in Kylmälä, Kirkkonummi, in Finland's Uusimaa region.

See your named star from here

Metsähovi's instruments listen to the sky at radio wavelengths, but the coordinates of any star named with Star Register point to the exact same fixed spot regardless of what kind of telescope is used to find it. Browse the star catalogue to explore named stars and their positions.