Four years after the National Science Foundation announced it would drop funding for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank effective Oct. 1, 2016, the Pocahontas County research center remains alive and well, and as of last week, proudly independent.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory sign at the entrance to the 60-year-old research center along W.Va. 28 has been replaced with a sign bearing the new green and purple logo of the Green Bank Observatory. Last Saturday, former and current employees of the observatory, including Dr. Frank Drake, who conducted the world’s first scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence at Green Bank in 1960, took part in a dedication ceremony for the newly independent observatory. Read more from the Charleston Gazette-Mail article here.
Similar articles: on this topic:
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Sky & Telescope – Green Bank Observatory Declares Independence
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Wired –What Happens When a Space Observatory Goes Rogue
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Pocahontas Times – Green Bank Observatory Plants Seeds for the Future
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Astronomy Now – Green Bank Observatory: the making of an American astronomy icon
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Other articles are available here.
A few pictures from the inauguration are below, and a link to more will be made available soon.
