Australia Telescope National Facility, Radio astronomy observatory in New South Wales, Australia.
The Australia Telescope National Facility is a network of radio telescope observatories spread across New South Wales. The most visited of these is the Parkes Observatory, home to a large dish-shaped antenna that points toward the sky to collect radio signals from space.
The Parkes Observatory opened in 1961 and quickly became one of the most capable radio telescopes in the southern hemisphere. Other sites were added over the following decades to form the coordinated network that exists today.
The facility is run by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, and has a visitor center at the Parkes site where anyone can learn about radio astronomy in plain terms. The site at Parkes draws visitors from across the country, partly because of the dish's role in a famous moment in space history.
The Parkes site is the one most open to visitors and has a small visitor center on the grounds near the dish. It is worth checking ahead before making the trip, as access to certain areas can change depending on ongoing research.
The Parkes dish played a direct role in relaying live television pictures of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 to audiences around the world. This story was later turned into an Australian film, which helped many people learn about the dish's place in that moment.
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