Unveiled At Their Headquarters In Roveredo In Piano, Italy

An Italian firm has unveiled a new radio telescope that is targeted at the educational market, particularly high schools. Earlier this week, Prima Luce Lab unfolded its new long range radio telescope in view of those attending the event at their headquarters, but also to the world streaming it live online on their Facebook page.

"The whole spider line was born with schools and the educational system as a target," said Doctor Filippo Bradaschia, CEO and co-founder of Prima Luca Lab. "We wanted to manufacture a top notch radio telescope to be used by high schools and universities in any weather condition. Of course," he continued, "schools are our primary interest but we believe that it would be a useful asset for the scientific community as well."

Bradaschia said the Spider 300A gives the same performances of a professional radio telescope but it is compact both in size and cost. Such characteristics make it much more interesting for schools and universities. "The Spider 300A is just the beginning of our new generation of radio telescopes, we are already working on both software and hardware optional additions in order to enhance its performances," he said. "We are developing add-ons such as remote control or SEPI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) applications." The CEO explained that the final goal is to create an array of telescopes forming together a larger antenna reaching professional capabilities.   

The telescope comes with a 3 meters wide dish antenna. Working with 1.42Ghz frequency waves, it can be used during the day as well as at night. Its operation will not be affected by clouds, as this kind of radio waves can penetrate cloud banks providing the possibility to observe the cosmos in any weather condition. The Spider 300A has a fully waterproof framework and in case of strong winds the antenna automatically repositions itself in such a fashion as to give as little resistance as possible. These features and the sturdy framework make it possible to leave the telescope outside without the risk of damage.

Equipped with a 1024 channels spectrometer, having high gain and making little to none electronic noise, the Spider 300A can detect radio signals coming from many sources in the universe.

(Images provided with Prima Luce Labs news release)

FMI: www.primalucelab.com