What is the Allen Telescope Array (ATA)?
Q: What is the Allen Telescope Array (ATA)?
A: ATA is a radio interferometer developed by the SETI Institute and the Radio Astronomy Laboratory (RAL) at the University of California, Berkeley for radio astronomy observations and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Q: Where is ATA located?
A: ATA is located at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory, which is 290 miles (470 km) northeast of San Francisco, California.
Q: What is the goal of ATA?
A: The goal of ATA is to have 350 antennas to improve its radio astronomy observations and search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Q: When did ATA start operations and how many antennas were used then?
A: ATA started operations on October 11, 2007, with 42 antennas (ATA-42).
Q: Why did ATA stop operations in April 2011?
A: Lack of money stopped operations in April 2011.
Q: Did ATA get short-term funding after operations were stopped?
A: Yes, ATA got short-term funding in August 2011.
Q: Why is ATA named after Paul Allen?
A: ATA is named after Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, who made significant contributions to the project. Its old name was the One Hectare Telescope (1hT).
