Introduction : W. P. Coldrick (photo right) is an alumnus of the Physics Dept. He has endowed the department with the William P. Coldrick Chair of Astrophysics. The current incumbent is Prof. Birkinshaw. The observatory currently being built on the roof of this building is also a gift from Mr. Coldrick. It is intended to be used both for teaching the students on our Physics with Astrophysics courses and for research.
The major instrument is a 6 metre radio telescope (photo left), built by Weston Antennas. Its Cassegrain geometry has been designed to operate between 4.5 GHz and 25 GHz, making it very suitable for studying water masers at 22.235 GHz. The main research aims include a survey searching for new maser sources in the Galaxy and monitoring the variability of known sources. The receiver is discussed below. In addition, there will be a small optical observatory on the same site housing a 10-inch Meade telescope.