Jocelyn Bell Burnell Radio Telescope

Unlike a conventional telescope, which captures images in visible light, the radio telescope is a receiver for radio waves. Since many celestial bodies emit radiofrequency radiation, these radiations are more detectable in the radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum than in the visible light region. The study of all these radiations is called radio astronomy. Thanks to this little-known branch of astronomy, it is possible to see bodies and situations that are not possible to detect with optical astronomy: for example, detecting meteors, obtaining images of galaxies, listening to explosions around Jupiter, solar phenomena or the sound produced by the northern lights.

In radio astronomy, in order to receive good signals, large antennas or groups of smaller antennas working in parallel must be used. Most radio telescopes use a satellite dish to amplify the waves. In the case of the UPNA, it measures 4.5m in diameter and has an approximate weight of 150 kilos.