Abstract :
A research group at the University of Texas is concerned with the use of millimeter radio waves. To study the transmission through the total atmosphere, the radiations from the sun and the moon have been examined at various frequencies throughout the millimeter radio region, and it became apparent that millimeter wavelengths provided a critical frequency range for radio astronomy studies; they lie in the transition region between conventional radio astronomy and optical astronomy. The new radio telescope at The University of Texas exemplifies this transition; it is the first instrument housed in the type of dome used for the optical telescopes, and the precision of its surface exceeds that required for longer wavelength radio telescopes.
