Jicamarca Radio Observatory, Radio observatory in Lima Department, Peru

The Jicamarca Radio Observatory is a facility of the Instituto Geofísico del Perú whose main instrument is a VHF radar operating at 50 MHz. Its main antenna is a cross-polarized square array of 18,432 half-wavelength dipoles covering 288 m by 288 m, the largest of all incoherent scatter radars in the world. The array is divided into quarters, each made of 4x4 modules, and the beam can be steered manually by about ±3 degrees by changing cables at module level.

The facility was developed and built in the early 1960s by an American institution to study the ionosphere. It has since been operated by Peruvian researchers and evolved into an important center for studying the atmosphere above the equator.

The observatory's staff were hired through Ciencia Internacional, a non-profit Peruvian organization created in 1991 to support the Instituto Geofísico del Perú in running the site. Since 1969 most radar components have been replaced with hardware and software designed and built by Peruvian engineers and technicians. More than 60 doctoral students, at least 15 of them Peruvian, have carried out research here.

The site lies roughly half an hour by car east of Lima, reachable via the Central Highway. Visitors should account for its remote location and exposed, flat terrain that becomes quite hot under direct sun.

The first computer in Peru arrived at Jicamarca in the early 1960s. Since 1969 most radar components have been replaced with hardware and software designed and built by Peruvian engineers and technicians, and over 60 doctoral students have carried out research here.