The C-Band All Sky Survey (C-BASS), will map the whole sky in temperature and polarization at 5GHz. The primary aim of C-BASS will be to allow accurate subtraction of the Galactic synchrotron polarization from the data produced by CMB polarization experiments.
This is a joint project of the University of Manchester, the University of Oxford and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK, the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the USA, and Rhodes University and the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in South Africa.
Two antennae have been obtained for the project in South Africa, donated by the South African telecommunications company Telkom. One of these has been relocated to HartRAO from the Telkom site 5km away, and is used for development and testing. The second is intended for operational use at the Klerefontein base near the Karoo Array Telescope site.
Klerefontein Antenna
Removal of the subreflector and its support legs from the antenna at the Telkom Satellite Station, 2009 May.
HartRAO technician Andre van der Merwe measures the shape of the subreflector on a milling machine, assisted by DST-funded intern Mduduzi Mbongo, who reduced the data, 2009 May.
At the Telkom site at Hartebeesthoek HartRAO technicians Richard Moralo, Andrew Masiteng and Jacques Grobler remove the main surface panels from the antenna intended for Klerefontein, while Pieter Stronkhorst operates the crane, 2009 May.
Foundations at Klerefontein for the C-BASS antenna, 2009 May.
C-BASS pedestal and mount re-erected at Klerefontein, 2009 May 31. From the left: Jacques Grobler, Charles Copley, Richard Moralo, Pieter Stronkhorst, Andrew Masiteng.
C-BASS antenna ready for mounting on the pedestal, Klerefontein, 2009 June 01.
C-BASS antenna is attached to the pedestal, Klerefontein, 2009 June 03.
C-BASS antenna hardware installation completed, Klerefontein, 2009 June 05.
C-BASS antenna on horizon with, Klerefontein base in the foreground, 2009 June 05.
Last Updated on March 21, 2023
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