EARTH STARTED AS A PEBBLE

Planets form not from microscopic dust particles but from small pebbles 100 - 1,000 times larger than ever seen before

The trailblazers of American radio astronomy called Green Bank Observatory home over 60 years ago. Today, their legacy is alive and well. Nestled in the mountain ranges and farmland of West Virginia, within the National Quiet Zone, radio astronomers are listening to the remote whispers of the universe, in order to discover answers to our most astounding astronomical questions.

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IN THE NEWS

GBT Investigates mysterious source of cosmic radio bursts

This discovery may help shed light on what is causing these strange bursts.

IN THE NEWS

GBT detects largest molecule ever seen by radio astronomy

This 6-atom, aromatic, ringed molecule provides a vital clue in identifying the source of a faint infrared glow permeating the Milky Way.

 

“

Its huge collecting area allows us to see these incredibly small energies that we're trying to study. The types of energies we look at are less than the energy of a single snowflake falling on the earth.

”

Karen O'Neil, GBO Director