<p>The photo looks like it could be from the late 1950s/early 1960s. Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope had been commissioned and people were looking for the next big thing in radio astronomy.</p>

<p>That next big thing was the fixed Arecibo dish, with a diameter of 305m, commissioned in 1963.</p>

<p>It is clear though that the picture is not a (very accurate) model of Arecibo and the location is wrong. I would guess instead that this picture purports to be the design for a radio telescope on the Moon or is an upscaled model of the <a href="https://csiropedia.csiro.au/radio-astronomy-at-dover-heights/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dover Heights</a> "sandpit" telescope (see below) built in the 1950s in Australia.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/zGeXj.jpg" alt="Dover Heights sandpit telescope"></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-04T08:43:29.990Z
Thanks, it must have been an exciting time to imagine the future of radio astronomy (different source with larger images available: http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/people/sar049/dover_heights/)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-04T07:35:51.870Z
2018-12-04T07:41:38.613Z
2018-12-04T07:41:38.613Z
ProfRob
<p>The BBC article <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45967655" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Archaeopteryx: The day the fossil feathers flew</a> has nothing to do with Astronomy but it shows a file photo of the famous astronomer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Hoyle" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sir Fred Hoyle</a> with a model of what looks like some kind of telescope.</p>

<p>I don't know if the "dish" is supposed to be fixed metal to reflect radio waves, or a rotating dish of mercury to reflect light, but I'm guessing the former is more likely. It looks like an off-axis, tilted secondary mirror reflects radiation back to ground level, but it's just a model so I can't be sure.</p>

<p>Are there any ideas what real instrument (if any) or at least what design that this fixed-"dish" model might be a model of?</p>

<p>What's scary is that at the bottom right it looks like a building several stories tall, which means that the telescope is huge, and the size of Sir Hoyle is on par with Godzilla. The time frame seems right for that too! ;-)</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/RWALz.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/RWALz.jpg" alt="Sir Fred Hoyle with model of some kind of telescope"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-04T06:03:29.760Z
All I can think of looking at this photo is "Quatermass". :-)
StephenG - Help Ukraine
<radio-astronomy><radio-telescope><identify-this-object>
What telescope might this be a model of, with Sir Fred Hoyle?
uhoh
# What telescope might this be a model of, with Sir Fred Hoyle?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-12-04)

The BBC article [Archaeopteryx: The day the fossil feathers flew](https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45967655) has nothing to do with Astronomy but it shows a file photo of the famous astronomer [Sir Fred Hoyle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Hoyle) with a model of what looks like some kind of telescope.

I don't know if the "dish" is supposed to be fixed metal to reflect radio waves, or a rotating dish of mercury to reflect light, but I'm guessing the former is more likely. It looks like an off-axis, tilted secondary mirror reflects radiation back to ground level, but it's just a model so I can't be sure.

Are there any ideas what real instrument (if any) or at least what design that this fixed-"dish" model might be a model of?

What's scary is that at the bottom right it looks like a building several stories tall, which means that the telescope is huge, and the size of Sir Hoyle is on par with Godzilla. The time frame seems right for that too! ;-)

[![Sir Fred Hoyle with model of some kind of telescope](https://i.sstatic.net/RWALz.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/RWALz.jpg)

**Tags:** radio-astronomy, radio-telescope, identify-this-object

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: All I can think of looking at this photo is "Quatermass". :-)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-12-04. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

The photo looks like it could be from the late 1950s/early 1960s. Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope had been commissioned and people were looking for the next big thing in radio astronomy.

That next big thing was the fixed Arecibo dish, with a diameter of 305m, commissioned in 1963.

It is clear though that the picture is not a (very accurate) model of Arecibo and the location is wrong. I would guess instead that this picture purports to be the design for a radio telescope on the Moon or is an upscaled model of the [Dover Heights](https://csiropedia.csiro.au/radio-astronomy-at-dover-heights/) "sandpit" telescope (see below) built in the 1950s in Australia.

![Dover Heights sandpit telescope](https://i.sstatic.net/zGeXj.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks, it must have been an exciting time to imagine the future of radio astronomy (different source with larger images available: http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/people/sar049/dover_heights/)  

---

