June 2024 – Single Dish Summer School (June 23-29, in-person only) — Open to the Scientific Community and presented by the Green Bank Observatory

We will host this workshop at the Green Bank Observatory with in-person participation only. Green Bank scientists will be available to give students an introduction to single dish observing, and telescope-specific training on the Green Bank telescope. Scientific sessions will run from Monday morning (June 24) through Friday evening (June 28). There is no registration fee for the workshop, and your housing accommodations and food will be paid for while you are in Green Bank. We are unfortunately not able to pay for transportation to Green Bank. While applications for the Single Dish Summer School are for in-person participation only, we will also make lectures available to view in real time remotely.

The GBO Single Dish Summer School will provide students, post-docs, and experts in other fields of astronomy with both knowledge and practical experience of the techniques and applications of single-dish radio astronomy using the GBT as the primary example. The school will be based around an intensive series of lectures from experts, as well as hands-on radio-astronomy projects and tutorials.  Topics to be covered include radio telescope fundamentals, key single-dish science areas, observing and calibration techniques, the impact of weather, the GBT observing procedures, software, and data reduction. The Summer School will be in-person only in 2024. We are planning to offer hybrid options in 2025.

The Single Dish Summer School will not include a GBT training workshop. Attendees who will need to control the GBT as part of their upcoming observations should attend GBT training workshops in February 2024 or Fall 2024, or contact their project friends about being trained one-on-one.

Schedule

The School will begin on the morning of Monday, June 24 and end on the afternoon of Friday, June 28, 2023. Attendees should plan on arriving on Sunday, June 23 to fully participate in the workshop. An example schedule can be found at this link.

Travel, Lodging, and Meals

The Green Bank Observatory is located in Green Bank, West Virginia.
The street address is:

Green Bank Observatory
155 Observatory Road
Green Bank, WV, 24944

and our GPS coordinates are: 38.431950, -79.817135

The observatory is approximately 4-5 hours from Washington, DC and Pittsburgh, PA, and approximately 2.5 hours from Charlottesville, VA. We recommend that workshop attendees traveling by air fly into Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).

Attendees are responsible for their own travel to the observatory. The observatory may provide a shuttle service to Washington Dulles at an additional fee. The exact cost of the shuttle service will depend on the number of riders that we can place in the same shuttle. Details will be arranged closer to the date of the workshop. We will also help to coordinate attendee carpooling from nearby airports. Email ude.oarn@rtnemraw and ude.oarn@yrogergb with Green Bank travel-related inquiries. Typically, a shuttle will leave from Dulles Airport at 2 pm on the Sunday before the workshop, and depart from Green Bank at 8 am on the Saturday following the workshop.

Attendees will stay in the observatory bunkhouse and residence hall, with many participants sharing accommodations. Meals will be provided on-site.

Radio Frequency Interference and the National Radio Quiet Zone

Green Bank Observatory is located in the heart of the National Radio Quiet Zone and the West Virginia Radio Astronomy Zone. These areas provide regulatory protection against certain sources of radio frequency interference that may otherwise negatively impact the scientific operations of the observatory. There is no cell phone reception within many miles of the observatory. GPS navigation typically works but should not be solely relied upon, and maps should be downloaded for offline use. The use of wireless internet, Bluetooth, and other wireless communications is strictly prohibited on observatory grounds. Electronic equipment, including digital cameras, are prohibited near telescopes.

Wired ethernet connections are available for use by attendees in work areas and the residence hall rooms, and observatory computing resources will also be accessible. Attendees should be sure that any personal computers or tablets are compatible with a wired ethernet connection. Adapters for tablets and ultra-portable laptops will *not* be provided.

More information on the NRQZ is available here.

Useful Information

Below are some useful resources for new and experienced GBT observers.  These resources will be covered in detail during the workshop, but attendees are welcome to briefly review the information below to familiarize themselves with some of the terminology prior to arrival.

Practical Information for GBT Observers
GBT Observer’s Guide
GBT Proposal Guide
Dynamic Scheduling System
Remote Observing Instructions
Sensitivity Calculator
Mapping Planner
GBTIDL (Spectral line data reduction software)
GBT pipeline
PRESTO (pulsar data reduction software)
MUSTANG Data Reduction Guide
CASA

Odds and Ends

Green Bank is located in the Appalachian Mountains at an elevation of 2,700 feet (~823 meters). Weather in mid-June is usually comfortable, but can be quite hot during the day and cool at night. Closed-toe shoes are required for tours of the GBT.

Questions should be directed to Anika Schmiedeke (ude.oarn@ekedeimhcsja, GBO) and Brenne Gregory (ude.oarn@yrogergb, GBO).