Grote Reber in Tasmania

This presentation was delivered at the first HAAC seminar, 19 November 2025.

Link to the 16 minute YouTube recording: https://youtu.be/GcCqDp7uvC8

Speaker: Dr Martin George, Principal Astronomer at Hive in Ulverstone, Tasmania.

Abstract: Pioneering radio astronomer Grote Reber (1911-2002) is famous for his construction of the world’s first purpose-built radio telescope in 1937 in the USA, which resulted in a radio map of the sky at the frequency of 160 MHz.  However, he later took a great interest in work at much lower frequencies.  Beginning in 1954, Reber spent much of his life in Tasmania, where he had learned that ionospheric conditions were more suitable for this work.  After initially working with Graeme Ellis (who was later appointed as Chair of Physics at the University of Tasmania), he went on independently of Ellis and other University researchers to build antenna arrays near the Tasmanian towns of Kempton and, more significantly, Bothwell.  At the latter site, he gathered data that enabled him to construct a radio map of the southern sky at the frequency of 2.085 MHz. 

Bio: Dr Martin George is Principal Astronomer at Hive in Ulverstone. He is passionate about public communication of astronomy, being well known in the media and making frequent appearances on radio and television since 1973 to discuss astronomy and space research. A major interest of Martin is astronomical history; he has written several papers about Tasmanian low-frequency radio astronomy.